ChatGPT has stolen Google’s thunder… for the moment
Within days of OpenAI launching ChatGPT, a version of GPT3 redesigned for a conversational interface, it was clear to Google that this kind of Large Language Model (LLM) posed a serious threat to its position as the world’s leading search engine. Comparisons about the user experience were being made, and a Google extension for ChatGPT was developed that allows users to view both ChatGPT’s response to a search query and the results provided by Google.
It’s worth remembering that a few months before the launch of ChatGPT, Google had hit the headlines with its conversational algorithm, LaMDA, which one of its engineers claimed was self-aware. Why Google did not did not follow up with more research and allowed itself be overtaken by the launch of OpenAI remains a mystery. One reason could be that Google was afraid of damaging its reputation with the LaMDA results, preferring to put the project on hold. After all, the stakes are not the same for a relative newcomer like OpenAI as they are for the hegemon of search engines.
At the same time, Microsoft began making noises that it could capitalize on its initial support for OpenAI to gain a competitive advantage by incorporating ChatGPT into many of its products, including its Bing search engine.
