ChatGPT is the new uncle: we trust AI answers more than Google

For twenty years, Google has unquestionably dominated internet search, but now the process of dethroning has begun. The rise of artificial intelligence, especially ChatGPT, is fundamentally changing user habits and opening a new era in the digital world. Google’s global market share has fallen below 90 percent for the first time in a long time, and the company is forced to adapt to emerging competitors.

“People are tired of every search leading to a list crammed with ads, often having to click through ten pages before they actually find what they’re looking for. AI-powered search engines, on the other hand, provide immediate, summarized, and personalized answers,” explains Péter Szesztay, founder and CEO of BP Digital.

You don’t get results, you get answers

The difference between Google and ChatGPT is obvious: while the former relies on keywords and returns dozens of result links, AI provides a single, summarized answer, often in a conversational format. The process is more intuitive, as the user does not have to come up with keywords, but can simply formulate their question, even as if they were asking a friend.

“In ChatGPT, it is much easier to refine or deepen the search. If I don’t like the answer, I simply give feedback and the system refines the information. This is a completely different experience than restarting the search with new keywords in Google”

– says Péter Szesztay.

In addition, AI is able to take into account the user’s individual habits and preferences. A thorough inquirer is given a detailed analysis, while a user looking for a quick solution receives a short summary. This personalization makes the technology particularly attractive.

We trust it more

Many users find AI-based searches not only fast and convenient, but also surprisingly authentic. More and more people report that they receive ChatGPT’s answers as if they were listening to the advice of a distant relative, old friend or wise uncle: not every word is necessarily scripture, but overall it provides a calmer, more thoughtful and more human experience than traditional search results. This trust factor is often stronger than what Google’s sterile, ad-filled environment can offer – and this is precisely what gives AI one of its biggest competitive advantages.

The development is most visible in multimodal search. Here, we can ask not only based on words, but also using images, videos and sounds. For example, if we take a picture of a product in a store, AI will immediately tell us what it is, where it is available and how much it costs.

This feature is not just a convenience service, but also fundamentally transforms shopping habits. This way, the user does not have to remember a brand or the exact product name: it is enough to show what they want to see.

Hungary is not left out of the change

International trends can also be seen in our country. According to a recent data, 17 percent of young people under 24 already use ChatGPT for searching, which is a huge step forward in the spread of the technology. Hungarian companies are also starting to realize that, in addition to classic search engine optimization (SEO), the future is Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), i.e. content development tailored to generative engines.

“More and more people are contacting us asking how they can create content that is clearly visible not only in Google, but also in AI-based search engines. This requires a completely new corporate approach, since here the ranking of results is no longer important, but that the system itself incorporates the content into its response”

– emphasizes Péter Szesztay.

BP Digital has also launched a free “AI visibility audit” that helps selected partner candidates assess how well a given company appears in generative search engines. In addition, the company will soon launch the first domestic research on ChatGPT usage habits, which is expected to reveal a lot about the adaptability of the Hungarian market.