According to search focus marking platform SOCi, Google's (GOOG, GOOGL) AI search software continues to outperform competitors, while OpenAI's ChatGPT falls to the bottom in comparison. SOCi CEO Afif Khoury appears on Asking For a Trend to discuss the study's methodology and findings.
Khoury explains the findings: “Right now, generative AI tools may not be viewed in GPT's favor in the sense that they have access to the internet. GPT has access to this local data, just like Bing and Google, because it's publicly available information, but it's up to how their algorithms are written and what their priorities are. Google has been in the local game for a long time and they prioritize that data very much. So I wouldn't say it's unfair in that different companies have access to different information, but if you pick a particular topic, one company may be better than another on that topic depending on their priorities.”
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This post Nicholas Jacobino
Video Transcript
The hype and investment around AI continues to grow.
A new study suggests that Gen AI has done little to upset the existing balance of search engines.
According to Google Gemini, a search-focused marketing platform, Sochi received the highest rating when it comes to quality local search.
Chatting with G BT, the person who ranked at the bottom to find out more about the findings is Coy of Thief, founder and CEO of Thief in Sochi, and it's great to meet you.
So basically, if you and your team evaluated these new generation AI tools when it comes to local search, can you elaborate on that research, what was the methodology here?
Yeah, thanks, Josh.
I'm happy to be here with you.
Umm, I see.
We looked at how different AI tools compare in providing truly local search results and analyzed the top six generative AI tools, including Google Search Generative Experience, Google Gemini Chat GP, Bing Copilot, Perplexity, and Meta Meta AI.
So, as you say, Google Gemini received the highest rating due to its ability to consistently provide relevant details.
Well, it's heavily supported by Google Maps, it's a Google product and Google encourages updates very strongly.
Well, Bing Copilot performed pretty well too.
Well, Bing gets a lot of its information from Yelp, which is also a frequently updated source of information by local businesses.
Well, we were able to provide detailed results.
Meanwhile, tools like Chat GP T struggled with accurate local searches and often provided location-agnostic results.
Hmm, I think this change really highlights the importance of business optimization for local sites and the importance of really important local sites.
And this shows that AI is only as strong as the data it has access to, or that AI takes precedence over Google Maps, which has a lot of great data that companies tend to update frequently.
Yelp.
And it seems to me that Chat GP T prioritizes other information that is not as relevant to local searches.
Yeah.
So, the reason I wanted to go is, if you think about, say, Google or Bing, they are, you know, designed for this Afif.
ChatG BT for local search chat.
It is different.
So Sam Altman is a man of enormous ambition.
Let's take a look at what Sam has up his sleeve in the product pipeline.
But my question to you is, is this study fair in the FIFA sense?
Are we really comparing apples to apples, so to speak?
Well, yeah, let's be fair.
At the moment, the view may not be favorable to GPT, in the sense that generative AI tools have access to the internet.
So GPT has access to this local data just like Bing and Google do, right?
Because it's public information that's available to the public.
Hmm, but it comes down to how they write their algorithms and what they prioritize, and Google has been in the local game for a long time and highly prioritizes its data.
So I wouldn't say it's unfair that different companies have access to different information.
Hmm, but if you choose a particular topic, some may be better for that topic than others, depending on your priorities.
gen Do you know how AI is impacting local businesses?
That is, do we know if we are actually getting customers into the store and buying our products?
As you know, direct attribution is a bit difficult.
Generative AI could theoretically significantly enhance local search capabilities by providing more accurate, contextually relevant results.
Well, these LL MS should make it much easier to find things.
At this time, you're usually presented with a list of results and have to go through each list to find what you're looking for by retrieving and summarizing all the information.
It really should be at your fingertips.
So if you're looking for a nearby Starbucks or Mexican restaurant, these AI tools are, in theory, the best way to aggregate all the information from reviews, social media, and searches in different areas and give you an answer about what's best.
This is version 1.
Josh, I think this is something everyone needs to remember.
This is version 1.
It starts with what data you have access to.
How optimized is it for that?
Let's look at version 6 and version 12.
And I think we're going to start seeing really big impacts, but I don't think businesses can wait around for that.
I think if you wait until they come out with a slightly clunkier version, you'll fall behind.
Now, businesses need to optimize their data and prepare for it.
thief.
This is very interesting research.
Thank you so much for joining us on the show today.
appreciate.
You're welcome, Josh.
Thank you to us.
