How Lady Gaga and AI are Shaking Up the Online Business World

It seems like the age of traditional search engines like Google might be facing a bit of a midlife crisis soon, according to a recent study by Gartner. The crystal ball gazers over there predict a 25% drop in the use of Google by 2026 as people cozy up to AI chatbots and other digital agents. So, why the sudden shift from good ol’ Google to these new AI buddies? Well, according to the folks at Business Insider, there seems to be a bit of a showdown between the traditional Google search engine and its shiny new generative AI version.

Since December, Business Insider has been playing Sherlock Holmes by plugging the same queries into both Google search and its generative AI cousin to see how information is dished out differently. Apparently, it’s like comparing a classic detective novel to a modern-day CSI episode. The Google spokeswoman, while tight-lipped about whether the generative AI will become the new favorite child, did mention that they’ve only just skimmed the surface of what generative AI can do.

Mark Mahaney, the internet guru over at ISI Evercore, has been putting Google’s generative AI through the wringer alongside competitors like Perplexity and OpenAI’s ChatGPT. He seems pretty smitten with the idea that AI can serve up more direct answers to queries instead of the good ol’ web link treasure hunt Google has us playing.

But hey, not everyone is throwing confetti at the AI parade. Adweek forecasted that web publishers might be in for a rough ride with potential annual ad revenue losses of up to $2 billion thanks to this AI invasion. According to Alan Antin from Gartner, this might force companies to do a bit of a marketing strategy cha-cha as AI takes over our search playgrounds.

As for the queen of pop queries, Lady Gaga, Google’s SGE seems to be straddling the line between making you click through to websites and serving up answers on a silver platter. It’s like Google is trying to find that sweet spot between being your personal assistant and a know-it-all librarian.

While the debate rages on about the future of Google and its AI alter ego, one thing’s for sure – links are still the bread and butter of Google search. No matter how fancy the AI gets, those trusty links are what keep the internet humming. So, whether you’re team Google classic or team AI uprising, the search game is definitely in for a wild ride in the coming years.