Hi! I want to know…..
“What is the best Chinese restaurant nearby?”
“How to write a thanks letter to my professor?”
“How to make a delicious cake?”
And…
What kind of platforms will you use to search for that information?
My answer will vary depending on the situation. Google’s information is more comprehensive and objective, AI’s answers are clearer and more structured, and social media’s answers are more customized.
Recently, a new search product called Perplexity has quickly become one of the most talked about platforms in technology, with an AI-driven search function that rivals or even bests traditional search platforms such as Google and Bing, according to a report from the New York Times.
It’s aimed to replace Google and become the main search engine.
But, Will it be possible?
I am not holding a very positive opinion about it.
This is because when I first heard about this product, I still unconsciously went to Google to search for it. Not any other AI platform.
It‘s hard to change people’s habits. Especially for the things we use daily.
Moreover, Google also incorporates AI functions into its website, so why should we give that up?
But is there any possibility for it to achieve its goal? Of course.
Don’t forget that Google wasn’t the most popular search engine at the very beginning. Why not take a look at the story of how Google became the champion?
Most Americans used AOL throughout the 90s. AOL has its search engine. Somewhere around 1997 Yahoo began advertising its search engine on TV ads and people loved the Yahoo commercials they saw on TV with the man yodeling the name “Yahoo.”
It was a catchy tune and this was also the 1st time that the concept of a Search Engine could be grasped by the general public. Soon after, people would use their AOL service to search for things on Yahoo.
But somehow (long story short) Google just slowly took over with an extremely elaborate strategy. By 2006 people used Google for almost everything internet-related.
In 2007 when iPhones came out Apple even had a deal with Yahoo which they thought would keep it alive. But 1 year later in 2008, T Mobile unleashed the G1 (Google 1) using the Android platform. There was no turning back. Google beat out Yahoo so badly that even iPhones began using Google as a default search engine and email client.
This success may contribute to the launch of Google Maps and Gmail, which offered new functions than other search engines.
In 2003, Google launched Google News, a content aggregation service that eventually changed how digital media was published and distributed on the web.
After being developed for three years, it launched Gmail in 2004 with 1GB of storage and advanced search capabilities.
During the same year, as the company’s web advertising products made it hugely profitable, Google priced its stock at $85 a share, giving it a $27 billion valuation after raising close to $1.7 billion.
So the point is, you can’t have shortcomings that are worse than your competitors, while at the same time offering advantages that they don’t have
Unfortunately, AI is still time-bound and lacks accuracy and comprehensiveness compared with Google.So in what aspects can AI beat traditional platforms?
Maybe it’s the Exclusive personalized function.AI could replace traditional search engines, only when it learns what its user wants and delivers more relevant responses.However, that may raise the issue of information barriers. People can only see the information they already know or tend to accept.
So in my opinion, AI will probably not replace search engines, but it will likely become the way we interface with them.
But who knows the future! Even if I am not a supporter of that change, I still looking forward to it.
