Competing with ChatGPT! Google reportedly will add an "AI mode" option to its search engine

Google Search is set to make a "big move." On December 19th local time, authoritative Silicon Valley media outlet The Information reported that Google will introduce an option to "switch to AI mode" in its search engine, providing answers to users in a conversational format, aimed at addressing the threats posed by competitors such as AI chatbots. A Google spokesperson stated: "As our state-of-the-art models continue to evolve, there is a tremendous opportunity to bring these new capabilities into search, helping people discover more web content." According to a person involved in the product development, Google plans to offer the option to "switch to AI mode" to its billions of search users, with this new label positioned to the left of other long-standing labels. Below the conversational answers in AI mode, Google will list links to external websites. It is noteworthy that the interface of AI mode is almost identical to Google's Gemini AI chatbot, however, the Gemini chatbot is currently separate from Google's search engine and has faced some difficulties in catching up with competitor ChatGPT. Therefore, analysts point out that Google's introduction of the "switch to AI mode" initiative is essentially expanding the audience for Gemini, which also reflects the pressure Google is facing—over the past few years, chatbots like ChatGPT and Perplexity have changed the way people seek information, with users becoming accustomed to using chatbots for information on shopping, recipes, travel itineraries, writing, and more. Although ChatGPT does not currently seem to have impacted Google's search advertising revenue, Google executives are still preparing for this possibility, especially as OpenAI continues to promote its web search capabilities. ChatGPT previously stated that their weekly user count has exceeded 300 million. While Google has not disclosed the user numbers for the Gemini chatbot, several companies tracking chatbot usage indicate that ChatGPT is far ahead of its competitors. For example, analytics firm Similarweb reported that in November 2023, the number of visitors to ChatGPT was nearly 14 times that of Gemini. However, some analysts point out that Google's launch of "AI mode" also faces obstacles. Currently, Google is facing penalties due to monopoly issues, with the U.S. Department of Justice previously indicating that they want to make it more difficult for Google to use its search engine to undermine competitors like AI chatbots. Therefore, the Department of Justice may seek to restrict Google's "AI mode" or similar new features through federal judges. However, analysts believe that Google may argue that its search engine has always been AI-driven, and thus these changes do not have a substantial impact