With ChatGPT’s conversational AI garnering widespread buzz recently, the common question is: Will this AI system ever rival or replace Google Search? While ChatGPT astonishes with human-like exchanges, can it compete with Google’s immense scope and real-time results sourcing?
I aim to assess how these two very different information engines currently complement each other. While ChatGPT exceeds expectations for AI-generated text, Google maintains clear advantages, powering 90% of searches.
The number of users of ChatGPT has already crossed the 100 million mark. But this landscape is constantly evolving, so anything can happen at anytime.
In this ChatGPT vs Google comparison, I’ll compare them head-to-head across key criteria to provide an unbiased perspective.
ChatGPT vs Google: Quick Comparison
| Feature | ChatGPT | |
| Interface | Conversational AI chatbot interface | Search engine box with list of results |
| Information Source | Trained on internet data up to 2021 | Scours current live internet |
| Response Format | Provides direct answers and summaries | Displays links to webpages as results |
| Personalization | No personalization of answers | Customizes results based on user data and history |
| Speed | It can take time to generate responses | Instant results delivery |
| Accuracy | May have some incorrect or outdated data | Results are generally highly accurate |
| Creativity | More capable of unique content generation | Simply retrieves existing information |
| Subjective Topics | Attempts to provide balanced perspectives | Objectively displays website information |
| Capabilities | A single system currently focused on chat | Much wider breadth as search engine |
| Pricing | ChatGPT Plus costs $20/month | Completely free to use |
What Is ChatGPT?
Back in 2021, Sam Altman, the CEO of Open AI, said, “Working at OpenAI reminds me every day of the magnitude of the socio-economic changes that are going to happen faster than most people think. Software that can think and learn will increasingly do the work that people do today.”
He warned of a technological Tsunami, and here it is – ChatGPT.
ChatGPT is an AI-powered chatbot trained over the latest GPT 3.5 model or the Generative Pre-Trained Transformer – OpenAI’s Generative Text Artificial Intelligence model. In short, ChatGPT exploits deep NLP and machine-learning techniques to provide human-like responses.
The dexterity of ChatGPT lies in its dialogue-based interactions. Just give any text prompts to ChatGPT, and it instantly generates a human-like answer to the query. Incidentally, the new AI Chatbot, freely available to the public since November, can answer almost any question users ask. Besides, it can generate code snippets, write poetry, screenplay, story, and even scientific essays.
ChatGPT vs Google – How Do They Compare With Each Other?
On the surface, ChatGPT and Google appear to serve the same purpose – answer users’ queries – but both have different approaches. ChatGPT follows a radical course of dialogue-based, human-like interaction. In contrast, Google tracks the traditional route – take the query, compare it with billions of web pages, and present the most relevant results. Then why is ChatGPT being projected as the Google killer? Let’s find the answer.
1. Advantages and Limitations Of ChatGPT Compared To Google
Since ChatGPT is the one that is doing all the disruption, let’s take a look at the capabilities and advantages of ChatGPT first;
Advantages
ChatGPT lists its capabilities and limitations on the interface, which is convenient to get the gist of, but we will go into more details.
The primary appeal of ChatGPT is its human-like response. It’s like talking to an actual expert.
Let’s take an example: ‘Explain the second law of thermodynamics in simple terms.
Hailing from a science background, I can say the answer is concise and structured.
Another advantage of ChatGPT is the precise nature of the responses.
ChatGPT replies to prompts in the most concise manner. You get the answer in the least words possible.
For example, when I ask the steps to prepare chicken nuggets at home, here’s the response I received;
ChatGPT offers steps from start to finish with no fluff. The condensed nature of the information that ChatGPT provides is particularly appealing.
Code debugging is also a glittering feature of ChatGPT that is hard to overlook
I mean, searching for code snippets is one thing, but getting actual code written is altogether a different level. It is awe-inspiring and certainly outdoes Google.
Let’s take an example of code debugging. I asked ChatGPT to correct a code that adds two numbers on Python.
Here’s the response;
ChatGPT not only corrects the code but also explains the error. Ingenious, to say the least. No such capability in Google.
ChatGPT can double up as a virtual assistant
You can ask it to draft a contract, write a poem, compile a travel itinerary, and offer gift ideas. Google doesn’t work this way. Therefore, ChatGPT has the upper hand here too.
Bonus: Want to start a business using ChatGPT? Take a look at our list of ChatGPT business ideas and choose the best one to get started right away.
ChatGPT can adjust responses based on a slight variation in the text prompts
ChatGPT is adept at understanding the context and adjusting its response. You can tweak the question to get a different reply.
Limitations
ChatGPT is intuitive, but it has limitations and some with much more severe implications. Let’s take a look at them;
One major downside of ChatGPT is that it’s limited by the data
ChatGPT does not have knowledge of just about anything. It is trained on a data model, which is limited to 2021. It means ChatGPT has no idea about what conspired in 2022.
ChatGPT has serious accuracy issues.
It means the information it provides cannot be assumed to be accurate. The implications of these limitations are far-reaching; therefore, I have dedicated a whole section to this later in the article.
ChatGPT cannot access the Internet
ChatGPT cannot compare one piece of information with another more complete or latest one because it cannot access the Internet. Therefore, ChatGPT is limited in knowledge. It can only access what has been fed to it during the training process.
ChatGPT sometimes lacks variation in the provided replies
Let’s say you are unsatisfied with the response and want a different reply, or you slightly adjust the query to seek a different answer. However, it happens that ChatGPT comes with the same answer – no new information.
ChatGPT won’t be free forever?
ChatGPT is available for free for now, but sooner or later, Open AI will monetize it. After all, it takes enormous resources to generate answers for the text prompts. When Elon Musk asked about it, Altman, OpenAI’s CEO, replied that each prompt cost around a cent.
2. Advantages And Limitations Of Google Compared To ChatGPT
Google was a revolution during the early days of search engines, which is why it evolved as an authority in the internet realm. Let’s explore the advantages and limitations of Google and compare them to ChatGPT
Advantages
Google has a massive database with all the latest information.
Google has over a hundred billion web pages indexed in its database. With such a massive database, Google can provide the most relevant results in split seconds. That’s not the case with ChatGPT. It offers precise answers but is limited by its knowledge.
Interesting Read: The number of internet users has reached over 5.3 billion, and most of them use Google as their primary search engine. Be updated with the latest trends and facts of the internet through our Internet User Statistics post here.
Google offers you multiple avenues to seek the most suitable answer
Google, in most cases, doesn’t answer you in YES or NO. Instead, it focuses on relevance and provides results that it finds most relevant to the search query. Users have multiple avenues to seek, compare and verify the information.
Google is capable of offering real-time information
Unlike ChatGPT, Google can provide real-time information. You can search trains and flight schedules, delays, the fastest route, real-time traffic status, and more.
Want to know which are the most searched things on Google? Check our post to learn about the popular searches on Google.
Google particularly excels in offering personalized results
Google can offer you results based on your past choices, locations, preferences, and more. You can ask Google for gift ideas, which will provide you with the details alongside user reviews, the best sites to buy a particular product, the nearest store where the items will be available, and multiple other suggestions based on your choice. In short, a more comprehensive answer that ChatGPT still can’t rival.
Google is Free
The primary revenue source for Google is ads. But there’s no subscription model to avail of its service. You don’t have to pay a dime to extract information from Google. That’s not the case with ChatGPT – it’s free for now but won’t be in the future.
Limitations
Google is a search engine and doesn’t have the same language processing capabilities as ChatGPT
As I told you earlier, the primary attraction of ChatGPT is its human-like interactions. Google doesn’t give you a single answer; instead, it presents you with different results and leaves it to users to find the most accurate answer. In contrast, ChatGPT provides a thorough and crisp response to your question in a human-like language.
Google doesn’t act as an AI-powered virtual assistant
You cannot instruct Google to draft a story. Sure, it can tell you the steps to write a good story, all the elements needed to make it catchy and appealing, but you have to do it yourself. In ChatGPT, a few texts will be enough to get a working story.
3. ChatGPT Vs Google: Working
One helpful way to discern the differences between ChatGPT and Google is to understand their work. Their inherent working will also eventually play a huge part in determining which platform will triumph.
How Does ChatGPT Work?
Chat GPT exploits the GPT 3.5 modules. These modules are trained over an extensive amount of data from the internet. Azure AI supercomputers were used for the training. Besides, OpenAI also employs a unique Reinforcement Learning technique utilizing human feedback.
It means that human trainers also contributed to the training of ChatGPT apart from a large data set. The ChatGPT system is designed to produce contextually appropriate responses. Besides, the AI bot focuses explicitly on ease of use; therefore, it answers instantly, admits mistakes, and denies inappropriate queries.
How Google Works?
Google is a search engine and is radically different from ChatGPT. It scans the internet looking for URLs – the process referred to as crawling. Next, it indexes the data in its database to fetch when asked. And lastly, it provides the most relevant information based on the search query.
Google ranks websites based on the relevance of content based on a particular keyword. When a user enters a query, Google matches it with billions of web pages and offers results in a successive order based on the relevance of their content.
Winner – No winner here; both ChatGPT and Google aim to resolve users’ queries but have different approaches to it.
4. ChatGPT vs Google – Usability
The entire premise of ChatGPT is based on ease of use, which is reflected in its functionality. A simple text prompt will return a clear and comprehensive answer. If we take the example of writing or debugging a code, ChatGPT does it with relative ease. Besides, it explains the process for clearing the code further.
Google, on the other hand, just fetches results. It’s on users to visit the ranking web pages and search for what they are looking for. Google does have a question snippet that directly answers questions; it’s not as comprehensive as ChatGPT’s response.
Winner – ChatGPT impresses with its ease of use. And if it gains the ability to access the internet in the future, it will kickstart a new era of online search.
5. ChatGPT vs Google – Accuracy
I entered this prompt into Chat GPT, ‘which is more accurate – ChatGPT or Google’, and got a pretty balanced response weighing the capabilities and limitations of both platforms.
That said, the accuracy of ChatGPT has been under security since its initial release. Social media is flooded with screenshots where ChatGPT came up with an incorrect response. ChatGPT answers simple questions accurately but becomes shaky if you put an unusual twist to the question. In some cases, ChatGPT wrongfully answers a question with complete confidence.
Interestingly, ChatGPT accepts that it sometimes provides inaccurate answers. While it may seem like a minor glitch, it has enormous implications. If you are doubtful about ChatGPT’s accuracy, you must verify the information from elsewhere, which will be daunting.
On the other hand, Google presents multiple results for a single query and leaves it to the user to pick the relevant information. However, Google uses complex algorithms to index and rank web pages providing accurate and relevant results.
Winner – Regarding accuracy, Google is far superior to ChatGPT.
Google Bard vs ChatGPT
Open AI created ChatGPT to serve as a general conversational AI assistant able to discuss a wide range of topics through natural language dialogs. It is trained on massive amounts of internet text data ending in 2021. ChatGPT aims to provide helpful, harmless, and honest responses.
Google Bard takes a more limited scope, focusing specifically on providing concise, factually accurate answers to questions rather than open-ended conversations. It is trained on Google’s latest internet data and search corpus. Bard is designed to cite its sources and admit when it is uncertain.
A key difference is that ChatGPT tries to play the role of a human chat companion, with Google Bard focusing solely on answering user queries accurately. While ChatGPT produces more detailed, conversational responses, they may sometimes be incorrect or biased. Google Bard prioritizes correct, to-the-point replies over personality and elaboration.
To compete with Google Bard and ChatGPT, Bing search engine has also introduced its own AI chatbot called Bing AI. We have compared all three of these chatbots, which you can check here.
Related ChatGPT Reads
Google vs ChatGPT: Final Verdict
Chat GPT is undoubtedly ‘smart,’ but to say it’s as smart as Google is a bit of an exaggeration at this point. I think the questionable accuracy of responses provided by ChatGPT is its biggest downside. It means the user is responsible for verifying the information, which takes away the ease people are attributing to ChatGPT. For example, I asked about the eligibility criteria for the SNAP program, and it reverted with a totally made-up response.
Sure, it could offer concise and lucid answers to complex questions, but its limitations can’t bear the weight of the user’s expectation in every scenario. For example, the concept of interests and behavior is foreign to ChatGPT, while Google heavily emphasizes it.
Likewise, location-based searches and suggestions are still elusive to ChatGPT ( ask ChatGPT about good restaurants in the area). However, Google can fetch hundreds of results based on your location, past preferences, etc., with additional information like reviews, distance, direction, and more.
Additionally, you can’t extract real-time information with ChatGPT. Ask about a flight’s schedule, and ChatGPT is useless because it can’t access the Internet. On the other hand, Google will display related info down to the minutes.
That said, ChatGPT is in its infancy, while Google has been the reigning king for over two decades. Therefore the field is open for ChatGPT to improve and adapt. I don’t see ChatGPT replacing Google anytime soon; however, it has shown there’s an alternative to ads-ridden text-based searches. Google is feeling the heat too and if it doesn’t evolve, ChatGPT might pose a real threat to the supremacy of big G in the coming future.
FAQs
Both ChatGPT and Google are accurate. But ChatGPT’s data can be more accurate than Google’s because its AI understands the nuances much better than Google. This feature of ChatGPT helps it answer those questions which Google may not answer correctly.
ChatGPT rose to fame very quickly and became the talk of the century. Some people think that it can easily replace Google, which is not possible at all because Google is also working on its chatbot that can give OpenAI a run for its money.
Yes, you can use ChatGPT and Google together. All you need to do is download the ChatGPT for Google Chrome Extension, and it will show you the results of ChatGPT on the Google Search results pages as soon as you search anything on Google.
ChatGPT has a lot of use cases for SEO. You can do keyword research, find out ideas to optimize your pages for search engines, create outlines for your blog posts, do an on-page SEO audit for your website, and more.
The ChatGPT Plus subscription costs $20 per month. With this subscription, you will get faster responses even at peak times, access to new features, and much more.
