OpenAI’s consumer product lead said ChatGPT now handles one-fifth as many web searches as Google does.

OpenAI says ChatGPT now processes search queries at 20 percent of Google’s volume. Adam Fry, OpenAI’s consumer product lead for ChatGPT, shared the figure at a Monday press event. OpenAI counts a search when a user enters a query that triggers a web search, not when the user asks for a definition or a simple how-to explanation. Fry did not identify the source of the Google search volume figure.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said during Google’s 2023 antitrust trial that Bing held about 3 percent of search market share after more than a decade. Google argued during that trial that ChatGPT could compete seriously with its search business. OpenAI likely routes many searches through Microsoft Bing and its own index, though speculation persists that some queries go to Google.

Enterprise teams should treat ChatGPT as a serious discovery surface and measure referrals, answer quality, and brand accuracy inside chat responses. Builders need clear content that answers direct questions because OpenAI defines search around queries that trigger a web lookup. Google’s move to reduce conventional referrals and add generative features raises the stakes for teams that depend on organic search traffic.

OpenAI is adding image-based sponsored products to ChatGPT as it eyes ads as a path to profitability ahead of a potential IPO early next year. OpenAI also describes a direction it calls Intelligent UI, which turns chatbot responses into visual and interactive interfaces. Builders should watch how OpenAI prices, labels, and measures those ad formats as search volume grows.

What matters

• OpenAI says ChatGPT now processes search queries equal to 20 percent of Google’s search volume.
• Builders should treat AI chat as a major search channel and design answers for direct discovery.
• Watch whether OpenAI discloses ad performance and search routing details as its IPO timeline develops.

Why it matters

Watch whether OpenAI discloses ad performance and search routing details as its IPO timeline develops.

This GenAI News article was prepared in original wording using reporting and materials published by The Verge. Source reference: https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/1025482/openai-says-chatgpt-is-catching-up-to-google-in-search.

Drafted by the GenAI News review pipeline.