Could chatGPT and AI help Microsoft really challenge the monopoly on search engines?

A few days ago Microsoft presented its upcoming Bing and Edge upgrades. Using chatGPT to add conversational searches features and content creations, they could forever change how we daily use our search engines and browsers.

Google responded by presenting their upcoming Bard competitor but seemed to be lagging behind its competitor on what could be a turning point in the search industry and more broadly how we interact with websites.

If you haven't seen both events we recommend you take a look at them here:

-Microsoft copilot event

-Google Bard and multisearch event

Of course this AI revolution will largely depend on the users adoption rate for it to be a reality. But as both companies pretend this could be the new paradigm for search, we need to take a look at what's happening. Google, Microsoft, Baidu but also some smaller companies are quickly iterating on new tools using AI and are all becoming much more efficient at an impressive rate.

Baidu is already very advanced but the main impacts of AI in western countries would most certainly be the results of the new war on search engines market share Microsoft and Google started during those events. AI already modified how image creation is done (the illustration image of this article for example is AI generated) but it seems the first mainstream usage of AI is right around the corner with a mass market usage in search results.?

SEO will be forever changed:

SEO was already facing increasing zero-click searches for which users never ended on any websites as they quickly got their answers directly from the search engines results. AI interactions will most surely increase those occurrences. The first examples presented by Bing using chatGPT are hinting toward contents that can be annotated but would require less digging in 3rd party websites to find the right information. Meaning less traffic for most websites especially ones that are focusing on news.

But to answer all those prompts with relevant and fresh information the AI will need meaningful content. That means SEO won't be dying soon, it will just adapt to the new norm: become the top source of information for relevant prompts. Of course this will also generate a lot of A/B testing for SEO experts to analyse how content is being delivered and for which type of prompts in order to create new SEO strategies in the future.

For users the main clear advantage of using Bing instead of Google will depend on the AI ability to give them better results. Of course for users to move from keyword lead queries to open questions / discussions will also require a massive change of habits after decades of using keywords searches in Google. This could slow down AI adoption and give time for Google to catch up with Bing. The adoption rate of the new Bing is then crucial for Microsoft and depends on the perceived added value of chatGPT vs classic search results but also on any key partnerships that could help speed things up (Apple choosing the new Bing as default search engine for example would of course make a massive difference).

This could also mean that once both Google and Microsoft have a AI solution integrated each of them could behave in very different ways at first as both companies still figure how to best integrate AI in existing search results. Different SEO solutions for each engine could then be required to let the AIs either share your content in direct prompts responses or be presented as useful links.

Of course with AI comes AI generated search results as well as AI generated contents. Many sites, blogs posts or social posts will soon be using high quality generated texts that will be good enough to give valuable content for humans and yet will be impossible to spot as AI generated.

The use of digital watermarking on AI generated content is the first answer to that potential issue. It could help protect intellectual property rights, trace content origins and avoid attempts of tampering existing ones. But we may also expect some tools to bypass those protections and offer solutions to create unique content quickly to fool crawlers by pushing AI generated content to an AI generated response

New tools like Stable Atttribution for image generation are already trying to analyse content in order to find the original contents used in databases to generate them.

Paid search : the next natural step

As SEO is transformed by AI, paid search or SEA still isn't mentioned by Microsoft or Bing. As Microsoft is less dependant on advertising they could avoid monetizing their chatGPT experience for a longer time range. But if standard search results are quickly replaced by AI discussions then the volume of revenue of Google would drastically decrease meaning they will have to find solutions to monetize it quickly and adapt SEA to AI results.

Of course the first possible impact of this new AI war for paid search advertisers is the ability for Microsoft to gain market shares quickly as for now chatGPT or Bard are not offering an paid placements yet. As we all know Bing's users base as always been the biggest issue to increase budgets on Bing Ads. The opportunity for Microsoft to gain new users is higher than ever and they could easily challenge the current Google monopoly to a point where users, advertisers and agencies can find a real alternative to Google by investing mostly on Bing.

For advertisers and agencies that would mean switching more budgets to Bing of course. A less monopolistic position from Google would also mean more transparency from them as they will be forced to offer better services to their clients vs the current situation. It could help give back more controls on campaigns (desired by both agencies and advertisers) and allow for more relevant insights.

Then as chatGPT manage to develop into a less text heavy tool and into a global images, maps, products, videos holistic approach we can expect Google Ads and Bing ads to come up with new ways of targeting users (the death of keyword targeting was already closing in but AI will simply accelerate it) and new ad formats (shopping selections, special offers, first position in a list of answers etc).?

As both companies challenge themselves and find new ideas of using those tools (more features, more differences between both search engines) agencies will be at the centre of that revolution. They will be required to adapt quickly, test more and challenge their ways of working. This will increase the complexity of search marketing until things settle but it will also bring new opportunities for brands that can adapt their strategy.

Search is everywhere

As I mentioned earlier, these changed would also impact search results beyond search engines.

If you think about it keyword search bars have became such a core feature of all the websites we use, to browse content or products. If search engines results are forever changed then the users will expect a similar behaviour on their favourite websites internal search engines. They will be looking for a more complex and customized way to engage with those websites.

You can then quickly imagine how websites could update their current search bars to more advanced solutions:?Amazon helping you find your latest laptop through AI discussions on your needs and budget, Airbnb and Booking helping you build the perfect vacations plans by curating some choices, Tinder matching people based on AI generated personality tests and even generating conversations starters, TikTok helping you find similar contents based on preferences or news websites giving you more details/context on the content you are reading.

Possibilities are endless as we discover what those AI features can bring to our current websites and apps. And as we learn how to master them.

In the end if search is not keywords based anymore then every e-commerce websites will need to switch how they let users browse their products. This could generate a lot of opportunities for some brands and left a few ones in the dust if they don't adapt quickly.

What's next for all of us?

As we enter a potential new phase of our web and app usages, search is going to be the first test for AI tools. It will bring many tests, many questions but could also accelerate the adoption of similar tools in other verticals : creative design is already disrupted by new AI generated images contents, SEO and SEA will be next. But other roles within marketing operations are going to follow. From fast data analysis to global media buying automation, a lot of AI tools could quickly change our industries as well as the profiles and skills needed to run a full marketing strategy.

This will be a challenge for every brands and agencies the same way Microsoft could do the unthinkable and challenge a monopolistic Google on its core business.