Microsoft's Bing search engine has seen a surge in popularity after adopting OpenAI's ChatGPT technology, putting it in a stronger competitive position against search market leader Google, according to a Reuters report .
According to the report, Bing traffic has increased by 15.8% since the launch of the AI-powered version of Bing on February 7, while Google's search engine has seen a decrease of nearly 1% in the same period. These numbers highlight the gains Microsoft has made from its early entry into the competitive market for search based on generative AI technology.
The statistics also reveal a rare opportunity for Microsoft to make gains in the $120 billion-plus search market, which Google has dominated for years with a share of more than 80%.
Gil Loria, an analyst at Davidson & Co, predicted that Bing's share in the search market would grow in the coming months, especially if Google was late in integrating generative artificial intelligence into its products.
Although the Bing AI artificial intelligence engine has been made available to the majority of users around the world since February , Google did not start issuing its chatbot Bard until this week , and on a very narrow level, as only a limited number of users had the opportunity to use Bard.
Analysts believe that Bing's ability to attract between 1 and 2 percent of users will be financially beneficial to Microsoft, given that Bing's market share is less than a tenth of Google's.
App research firm Data.ai reported that Bing app downloads rose eightfold worldwide following the AI boost, while the Google search smartphone app saw a 2% drop in downloads over the same time frame. However, some analysts believe that Google can recover from these initial challenges and maintain its leading position.
Youngji Jeong, an analyst at Mirae Asset Securities in South Korea, said in a statement to Reuters that Google's algorithm for ranking search results has an advantage over other algorithms, which gives it an edge over competitors.