Google for the elderly, Perplexity for the young?

In the past twenty years, Google's search engine has almost become synonymous with internet search. However, in recent years, Google has been facing a series of pressures from competitors due to changes in user habits.

According to eMarketer's forecast, by 2025, Google's share of the U.S. search advertising market will fall below 50% for the first time. Google's future seems to be at a critical juncture.

Among them, one of the biggest problems is the significant change in the search habits of the younger generation. In the past, users would turn to Google for any questions, but now, more and more people are starting to turn to other platforms and rely on AI for searches.

As technology continues to advance, whether Google can find new growth points will determine whether it can continue to dominate the search engine and digital advertising markets in the future.

Erosion of the Search Engine "Dominance"

Statistics show that Amazon's search engine advertising revenue has rapidly grown, becoming one of Google's biggest competitors. When people shop, searching on Amazon has become their first choice.

In addition, the rise of the short video platform TikTok has caught the attention of advertisers, with 23% of users starting to search for content within 30 seconds of opening the app, resulting in a global daily search volume of 3 billion.

An even greater challenge comes from the rapid development of AI. Especially with the launch of ChatGPT by OpenAI, which is redefining how search engines operate. These "answer engines" can provide direct answers to users without relying on traditional search result links.

Most notably, the AI search engine Perplexity, co-founded by former OpenAI research scientist Aravind Srinivas and several partners, has surpassed 10 million monthly active users (MAU) in less than two years without any user base.

As AI becomes prevalent in various fields, the traditional model of Google's search engine is facing severe disruption. Melissa Schilling from NYU Stern School of Business pointed out:

"Google seems to be struggling in the search field until AI emerged; now AI for search is akin to how Walmart's e-commerce transformed retail."

Google appears somewhat passive in this AI competition. Although the company launched AI-based search summaries for U.S. users earlier this year, it remains uncertain whether these measures can effectively reverse the situation.

AI Content Overload, Declining Website Traffic and Advertising Revenue

In addition to competitive pressures, the proliferation of AI-generated content poses a significant challenge for Google.

With the widespread adoption of AI technology, more and more internet content is being generated by machines, and the quality of this content varies widely, potentially conflicting with the optimization rules of search engines.

One of Google's core competencies has always been its ability to provide precise and relevant search results. However, with the increase in AI content, the quality of search results has noticeably declined, which not only diminishes user experience but may also lead users to gradually lose trust in Google Search. In this context, Google's advertising revenue is also under pressure as more and more users begin to avoid clicking on ads in search results, opting instead to rely on AI-generated summaries for direct answers.

According to data from the advertising platform Skai, although Google reported strong revenue growth last quarter, the rate at which people clicked on ads has decreased by 8% compared to last year. This may be due to Google's direct display of AI summaries in search results, which reduces users' willingness to click on ads. Research from the advertising sales company Raptive also indicates that after Google launched AI search summaries, publishers' revenues could potentially lose up to $2 billion.

Despite facing numerous challenges, Google remains one of the most powerful technology companies in the world. Harvard Business School professor David Yoffie believes that while artificial intelligence and other competitive forces may eventually replace Google, the company's dominance is unlikely to disappear easily.

"People tend to get used to certain platforms, and unless a superior alternative emerges, Google will maintain its market leadership for some time."