Bold Business Logo

Welcome to the AI Search Wars – A New Version of the AI Chatbot Race

A graphic exemplifying the chatbot search wars.

For several decades, Google has dominated the kingdom of Internet search. Over the years, AOL, Yahoo!, and most earnestly, Microsoft’s Bing have tried to knock Google off its throne. Some, like DuckDuckGo, have even tried to lure searchers aways from Google in the name of data privacy. But all attempts have failed thus far, leaving Google to earn tens of billions in search ads each year. But could it be that fresh competition awaits Google in the coming months? Probably. Artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot search wars are on the horizon and will usher in a new AI chatbot race for search. And if Google wishes to remain on top, then they may to play a little catch-up.

Someone witnessing the chatbot search wars on their phone
The chatbot search wars have begun–who will win?

(Data privacy is big business–read why in this Bold story.)

With the introduction of the newest AI chatbot technologies, search engine competition has again become a new thing. As GPT-3 platforms introduced new platforms like ChatGPT and others, it’s clear that we will soon be interacting with Internet data in new ways. Instead of spiders combing the Internet based solely on SEO content, AI will do it for us. And it will do it in ways that is at lightning speed and much more thorough. And most importantly, it will do it in a manner that allows us to receive and digest precisely the information we are seeking. There’s no doubt about it: the AI chatbot race has started. And it remains to be seen who will win the AI chatbot search wars this time around.

Microsoft’s Prometheus Leading the Way

Recently, Microsoft held a demonstration of its new contribution to the AI chatbot race. Called Prometheus, this new version of search combines Open AI’s latest language abilities with Microsoft’s Bing search engine. Open AI is the parent company who just introduced ChatGPT, which could change all types of areas of content creation. And Open AI is also the company in which Microsoft has invested $1 billion. The combination of these platforms markedly enhances user search in many ways. In fact, it’s so much better that many expect to switch their default search engine from Google to Bing as soon as it’s available. That’s something few would have ever expected based on search engine experiences in the past. And it’s why many foresee new AI chatbot search wars emerging.

The way that Microsoft’s new search process works isn’t that complicated. In essence, a user still poses a query for their search using Bing. Bing then searches Internet indices for all relevant information and data. However, at this point, the query results are fed through language models linked to the latest AI technologies. The end result on-screen then provides Bing’s search results on the left with AI chatbot summations on the right. As a result of this approach, one’s search request yields much more detail, documented, and relevant information than simple search alone. In short, the AI chatbot race in search won’t simply be about finding the best Internet links. Instead, the AI chatbot search wars will be about which platform summarizes all relevant data the best and the fastest.

Someone using an AI chatbot to conduct a search
Integrating AI chatbot technology into search engines is a giant leap forward, and as a bonus, it might unseat Google as the search engine king.

The Latest in AI Chatbot Technology

In terms of the recent AI chatbots released for content creation, the latest platform upon which they’re constructed is GPT-3. This newest language model is much more advanced that prior models that were much more prone to errors and biased outputs. That doesn’t mean they are without their own issues, as many of these AI platforms present some negative concerns. But the jump in ability and quality is substantial, nonetheless. Interestingly, it’s widely believed that Microsoft’s latest contribution to the AI chatbot search wars uses a more advanced language model. This highlights how quickly new versions are being developed and how fast they are improving. For this reason alone, the AI chatbot race among companies will be one in constant flux in the years to come.

The reason that experts believe Prometheus uses a newer form of AI relates to Microsoft’s demonstration of its capacities. Unlike current AI platforms like ChatGPT, the results produced by Prometheus were annotated with documented sources. In addition, the latest and most current information regarding a search subject was included in the results. Other AI chatbots to date lag behind about a year in informational recency. As one can appreciate, both of these features are critically important when it comes to search. And Prometheus’ ability to do this suggests Open AI has at least moved on to a GPT-4 language model. Given this, it’s clear why Google might be a bit worried about their position as search leader. When the dust from the AI chatbot race settles, they may no longer be number 1.

(Dig into what ChaptGPT is all about in this Bold story.)

Pitfalls and Consequences

A handheld device in the AI chatbot race
Search engines are caught up in the AI chatbot race–what’s next?

It has been widely reported that current AI chatbots for content creation are far from foolproof. Issues can range from overly confident conclusions that are wrong to erratic and inconsistent responses. At the same time, the potential for disinformation campaigns also exists. However, newer versions of GPT language models are expected to improve in these areas. The bigger concern at the moment for companies like Google may be related to advertising dollars. If AI chatbots summarize links without user clicks, how will advertisers be compensated? In fact, why advertise online at all if users only look at AI chatbot summaries? It may well be that the AI chatbot search wars will disrupt much more than search practices alone.

The AI chatbot race has already begun, and Microsoft has drawn first blood via Open AI. But in terms of chatbot search wars, it’s still early, and much more than search will be affected. Part of Microsoft’s latest demonstration also included a version of its Edge platform with AI. This integration offered AI-created content in a variety of styles based on a user’s needs. These styles included professional, casual, informational, enthusiastic and funny options for content creation. This too highlighted an important fact when it comes to the AI chatbot race. Not only will we soon rely on AI to help us with content and search. But we will probably become increasingly reliant on AI for a variety of routine tasks. In other words, buckle up because things are about to get very interesting when it comes to AI.

 

Companies are laying off lots of employees lately–what should you do to safeguard your future? Read this Bold story to find out!

Don't miss out!

The Bold Wire delivers our latest global news, exclusive top stories, career
opportunities and more.

Thank you for subscribing!