The author concludes that while AI can potentially improve search engines' understanding of questions and processing of information, these AI tools are currently too slow to compete with Google. The challenge lies not just in improving the technology, but also in reinventing the way information is presented and summarized. The author suggests that it will take more than a chatbot to replace Google as the center of the web.
Key takeaways:
- AI search engines like Perplexity and You.com are being touted as the future of search, but they still struggle to match Google's speed and accuracy for many types of queries.
- For navigational queries, AI search engines are generally slower and less accurate than Google, often providing unnecessary information instead of a direct link.
- For information queries, AI search engines can sometimes provide more context and helpful information than Google, but they can also be slower and less reliable, particularly for real-time information like sports scores.
- AI search engines can excel at explorational queries, synthesizing information from multiple sources and providing direct links to those sources. However, they still struggle with complex queries like "what to watch," where Google's custom page design provides a superior user experience.