AI challenges the advantages of Google search

Like most people, when Anja-Sara Lahady was checking or researching something online, she always relies on Google.

However, since the rise of AI, lawyers and legal technology consultants say her preferences have changed – she currently relies on large-scale language models (LLMs), such as Openai's ChatGpt.

“For example, I ask how I should decorate my room or what kind of clothes I should wear,” says Ms. Rahadi, who lives in Montreal, Canada.

“Or I have three things in the fridge, what should I make? I don't want to spend 30 minutes thinking about these administrative tasks. These are not my expertise. They make me even more exhausting.”

Rahadi says that using LLM has overtaken Google search in the past year, when she has become more powerful for what she needs.

“I've always been an early adopter…and for the past year I started using ChatGpt for almost everything. It became my second assistant.”

She says she doesn't use LLM for legal tasks “that requires legal reasoning,” but she uses it with professional ability for any task she describes as “low risk,” for example, drafting emails.

“I use it to help you write code or find the best accounting software for my business.”

Rahadi is not alone. The growing number is heading directly towards recommendations and everyday questions for LLMs such as ChatGpt.

According to data and research firm Demanysage, ChatGpt will attract more than 800 million active users from 400 million in February 2025.

Traditional search engines such as Google and Microsoft's Bing still dominate the search market. However, LLM is growing rapidly.

According to research company Datos, 5.99% of searches on desktop browsers went to LLMS in July. This is more than twice the previous year's figure.

Professor Feng Li, dean of research and innovation at Bayes School of Business in London, says people use LLM to reduce “cognitive load” (the amount of mental effort required to process and act on information) compared to search.

“Instead of juggling 10 links in a search, you get a simple composition where you can edit and repeat in plain English,” he says. “LLM is especially useful for long document summaries, first pass drafts, snippet coding, and 'what-if' exploration. ”

However, he says that the output needs to be verified before use, as hallucinations and de facto errors remain common.

While AI usage may have exploded, Google has denied its sacrificing search engines.

It says that overall and commercial queries continue to grow year-on-year, and that the new AI tools have contributed significantly to this increase in use.

These new tools include AI mode. This allows users to ask more conversational questions and receive tailored responses in return.

It follows the AI ​​overview deployment and creates a query overview at the top of the search page.

While LLMS was affecting the search business, Google saw signs of impact in May in antitrust testimony purchased by the U.S. Department of Justice against Google.

Apple's top executives say the number of Google searches on Apple devices through their browser Safari has fallen for the first time in more than 20 years.

Nevertheless, Professor Li does not believe there is a replacement for search, but does not believe that a hybrid model exists.

“Although the use of LLM is on the rise, so far it remains minority behavior compared to traditional searches. It continues to grow, but is likely to stabilize somewhere.

As a result of the rise of LLMS, companies need to change their marketing strategies.

Leila Seith Hassan, chief data officer at digital marketing agency Digitalas UK, needs to understand “the sources that models think are authoritative within categories.”

“In British Beauty, for example, we looked at news outlets and looked at sites that reviewed sites like Vogue and Sephora, but in the US there was a focus on content from the brand's own websites.”

She says LLMS has more faith in official websites, press releases, established media and recognized industry rankings than on social media posts.

As Seis Hassan says there are indications that people who search for products using AI are likely to buy it, that may be important.

“Referrals that come directly from LLMS often seem to be of higher quality. People are more likely to convert to sales.”

There is a lot of anecdotal evidence that people are turning to LLM when searching for products.

Hanna Cook, the head of client strategy for media and influencer agency Charlie Oscar, says he began using LLM in “a more serious and strategic way” about 18 months ago.

She mainly uses ChatGpt, but she experimented with Google Gemini to streamline her work and life personally and professionally.

Rather than relying on Google, Cook, who lives in London, says he wants ChatGpt to recommend personalized skin care for skin types. “There are few websites I need to go through,” she says of profits.

And that's the same with travel planning.

“ChatGpt is much easier to find answers and recommendations,” she says.

“For example, I used ChatGpt to research prior to my recent visit to Japan. I asked them to plan a two-week trip and find a restaurant with vegetarian cuisine. [me] Research time. ”