OpenAI’s technology integration into Microsoft’s Bing has led to a surge in user traffic to the relatively underused search engine, enabling it to better rival Google’s dominance in page visit growth, as per Similarweb’s analytics data.
According to data up until March 20th, page visits on Bing have increased by 15.8 percent since Microsoft introduced its AI-powered version on February 7th. In contrast, page visits on Google, which is owned by Alphabet Inc., have decreased by nearly one percent over the same period.
These statistics provide an initial indication of the head start that Microsoft has achieved in its rapidly-evolving competition with Google to attain generative AI supremacy, largely driven by the capabilities of the technology that powers ChatGPT – the renowned chatbot that has been compared to the “iPhone moment” for the field of AI by several experts.
Furthermore, these figures highlight a rare opening for Microsoft to gain ground in the search market, which is worth over $120 billion and has been dominated by Google for many years, with a market share of more than 80 percent.
According to Gil Luria, an analyst at D.A. Davidson & Co, Bing is likely to capture a larger share of the search market in the upcoming months, particularly if Google continues to postpone the implementation of generative AI in its offerings.
Although Bing’s AI has been accessible to a majority of users globally since February, Google only commenced the public launch of its chatbot, Bard, on Tuesday.
“Bing has less than a tenth of Google’s market share, so even if it converts one percent or two percent of users it will be materially beneficial to Bing and Microsoft,” said Luria.
Data.ai, an app research company, reported that app downloads for Bing surged eight-fold worldwide following the integration of AI technology. In contrast, downloads for the Google search app decreased by two percent during the same period, as per the data.
Despite Microsoft‘s recent gains in the search market, a few analysts believe that Google, which dethroned Yahoo as the top search engine in the early 2000s, could recover from its initial setbacks and sustain its leadership position.
“Google’s ranking algorithm can have a competitive edge over that of competitors,” said Yongjei Jeong, an analyst at Mirae Asset Securities in South Korea, referring to how Google’s algorithm helped it beat Yahoo Search.
(With inputs from Reuters)
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