The digital age and Google are complementary terms for everyday use: technology has evolved, utilizing Google as the primary platform for searching and finding information.
Yet in the emergence and evolution of AI like ChatGPT since November 2022, routine use has revolutionized into a multifaceted blend of Web browsers and AI engines.
Google’s iconic blue search bar now seems redundant and robotic compared to AI search engines, which better understand variations in wording, adjust to minor errors and pinpoint exact information without the need to scavenge through multiple websites and articles.
In addition, the constant updates and integration of features have been targeted to benefit routine users instead of programmers and IT experts only.
The ability to read pictures, think longer to eliminate mistakes, and hour-long research-based answering features have revitalised the use of AI for searching and synthesising information.
The most useful feature to date is the ability to “search the web” and draw exact citations of websites from which information has been gathered. Using AI as a guide to find credible websites, then reading and researching from there, is a flawless way to avoid errors and save time.
Nonetheless, Google has still maintained steady growth as elements such as exchange rates, maps and location, news media, transportation tickets, and other up-to-date information make their way to Google first. Where AI engines can analyse, Google provides updated information that we are heavily reliant upon.
Statistically, chatbot websites experienced an exponential 80.92% rise in user traffic from April 2023 to March 2025, whereas traditional search engine user traffic decreased by 0.51%. Chatbot websites only account for 2.96% of all internet searches.
Google still dominates with an average search volume of 14 billion per day compared to ChatGPT’s 37.5 million per day, which further reinforces that AI bots are not here to eliminate the use of Google for everyday users but rather hybridise it with their ability to analyze and pinpoint information.
Google and AI serve distinct yet complementary purposes. Google can be utilised to source live information, whereas AI is used to synthesise the given information to make meaningful decisions. For example, Google will show current phone market prices in a store, but AI will analyse the particulars of neighbouring mobile sets to recommend the best phone to purchase.
However, both are susceptible to providing non-credible and inaccurate information, just in different ways. Search engine optimisation (SEO) has been commercialised and monetised in various ways, which grants websites, regardless of accuracy or time validity, to appear at the top of the search results; this means clicking only the website that appears first is rarely enough.
On the other hand, AI generates answers by making guesses through the analysis of past data. So if there’s not enough data about something on the internet, it will generate incorrect facts and certainly mislead. In other words, the AI ‘hallucinates’.
Artificial intelligence is not here to make Google obsolete. Consider it to be an added spectrum to the internet: blending traditional browsing with more interactive features that save you hours of searching!