With ChatGPT, the counter position that OpenAI has against Google is that Google is not incentivized to put a LLM chatbot front and centre of Google Search. That’s because it would cannibalize their current search business which is monetized by ads, and is by far Google’s biggest money maker. With a chat based interface to retrieve information from the internet, people would be unlikely to use the existing Google Search as much because they would get the exact answer they need in a fraction of the time, and be saved the effort of sifting through a ton of irrelevant, but SEO optimized text. This would create a huge negative impact on Google’s revenue.
Advertising doesn’t seem like the best monetization method for a chatbot, Which simulates a one-on-one conversation. Ask one question, get one answer. Google’s search results page serves a few ads within a menu of search results. The user decides whether to pursue a sponsored result.
I think it’s only a matter of time before ChatGPT introduces search across the web because the value it offers is gigantic, and it seems like it is within the capabilities of current LLMs. To compete, Google will have to take a big risk of cannibalizing their biggest money maker. Classic innovator’s dilemma. Let’s see how it plays out.
Amogh Vaishampayan 