The article discusses a report from Bank of America that claims Google’s search market share has decreased slightly and attributes it to ChatGPT. The article emphasizes that this is highly unlikely, as ChatGPT is not a search engine but rather an LLM-based generative AI chatbot. The report also states that Google’s search market share has been relatively stable over the past 12 months, despite this being its lowest global search market share in the past year.
However, StatCounter data shows that Google’s search market share has been relatively stable since August 2015 when it surpassed 91% worldwide. The article emphasizes that for most of the past eight years, ChatGPT did not exist, yet Google’s search market share continued to fluctuate. The report also compares the market share of Microsoft Bing, which has also decreased year-on-year. Additionally, Similar Web data shows month-over-month comparisons, indicating increases in traffic for Bard, Bing, and ChatGPT, although it is noted that ChatGPT’s traffic is only 2% of Google’s web traffic.
The article concludes by highlighting the influence of generative AI on reshaping search and reminds readers that Google remains as dominant as it has been since 2015. It stresses that the impact of Google, ChatGPT, and generative AI on search is an important story for search marketers to watch, but ultimately concludes that there is currently no substantial evidence to suggest that ChatGPT is eating into Google’s search market share.
Overall, the article provides a comprehensive analysis of the data pertaining to Google’s search market share and effectively dispels the notion that ChatGPT is having a significant impact on Google’s dominance in the search market. It also highlights the importance of monitoring the influence of generative AI on search in the future.
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