• by Brad Neelan , Op-Ed Contributor, November 5, 2024

After 20 years in search marketing, I've witnessed Google's algorithms shape how we find information. I am pretty sure it changed me as an insatiably curious person. Now, everything's changing. While Google took years to build its empire, ChatGPT reached 100 million users in mere months. This isn't just growth – it's a fundamental shift in how humans interact with information. With the launch of ChatGPT Search, we are just getting warmed up. 

The numbers tell a compelling story. ChatGPT's trajectory from launch to 200 million weekly active users by August 2024 represents more than just impressive metrics. It signals a profound change in user behavior. When a platform generates 2.3 billion website visits in January 2024 alone, we need to lean in with intense curiosity. These aren't just statistics – they're signposts pointing to a new era in search. Consider the following: 

• Launched in November 2022, ChatGPT reached 1 million users in just five days—a record-breaking adoption rate compared to even the biggest names in tech. 

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  By January 2023, it had skyrocketed to 100 million monthly active users, outpacing platforms like TikTok and Instagram in early growth. 

• As of August 2024, ChatGPT now sees over 200 million weekly active users globally, with 2.3 billion website visits in January 2024 alone, underscoring the strong demand for AI-powered interaction. 

But this isn't about ChatGPT versus Google. It's about the emergence of genuine choice in how people find information. Perplexity AI demonstrates this perfectly, building its own path to 10 million monthly active users by January 2024, and in September the platform reached a peak of 2.7 million daily visitors. 

Meanwhile, Google's Search Generative Experience (SGE) shows that even the established titans recognize the need to evolve. Fair to say that it is far more challenging for a Google type object to pivot, and this means opportunity for the intrepid in search. 

For us as marketers, this evolution creates new first mover and fast follower opportunities. Traditional search methods are not becoming obsolete per se – it's becoming a vital part of a larger go to market approach. When 80% of Fortune 500 companies integrate ChatGPT into their operations, they're not abandoning traditional search: they're expanding their horizons.  

The most exciting part? We're seeing a shift from link-based discovery to intent-based conversations and the speed of our human focus. Users aren't just searching differently; they're expressing their needs more naturally. This changes everything about how we approach search marketing:

• Content strategy now spans both traditional SEO and AI-ready formats. Develop a dual content strategy, creating some assets optimized for SEO while crafting others to engage AI-driven platforms like ChatGPT and Perplexity. 

• User intent becomes clearer through conversational interactions. Make sure to consider all search formats including chatbot, site search, interactive Q&A, social search and other experiences on your site that capture user intent directly, then analyze these data points to refine your broader marketing strategy.

• Value delivery becomes more immediate and direct. With the speed of the LLM’s and the shareholder pressure to deliver quarterly returns, the agility to shift into more modalities and form factors will emerge and bring new complexity to be leveraged. 

But let's be clear: this transformation brings challenges. One area that will create thrash and swirl will be around measurement. Traditional Search Marketing KPIs, which have been universally undervalued, don't fully capture the impact of AI-driven search nor the behavioral shifts in say social search or augmented reality. This area will become a burden for search marketing teams and the questions on the horizon might include:  

• How do you spot entropy or decay and have marketing teams and data science teams versed on why and how? 

• How do we measure the success of a conversation, a query, a retrieval value, or for more advanced insights things like Lucene Search & Vector Based Prediction? A whole new library of metrics like session time or interaction paths will be core to really know how disposable the searchers time is or is not. 

• What metrics truly matter when users get immediate, synthesized answers instead of clicking through multiple pages?

These are good challenges to have. They push us to think differently about search marketing. Instead of optimizing for a single algorithm, we're learning to optimize for human intent across multiple platforms. This isn't just adaptation – it's evolution.

For the first time in two decades, we have real choices in how we connect information with users. This isn't about choosing between traditional search, social search and AI-driven search – it's about mastering the essence of curiosity and our ability to stretch out and discover new ideas and experiences in our lives. The future belongs to marketers who can bridge these worlds, maintaining technical excellence while embracing conversational discovery.

For anyone in search marketing, this is your moment to reshape how we think about the scale of search marketing. The fundamentals haven't changed – we're still connecting people with the information they need. But our tools, channels, and possibilities have expanded dramatically. For those ready to embrace this evolution, the opportunities are unprecedented.

The future of search isn't just about technology – it's about understanding human intent, desire and curiosity better than ever before. That's something every search marketer should be excited about. The query was always the substance, now, competition will help us serve everyone who has a need with far more choice. Game on. 

PS: Some Valuable sources from my ongoing curiosities and explorations below:

Primary Analytics & Research:

1. SimilarWeb Analytics Dashboard https://www.similarweb.com/website/chat.openai.com/https://www.similarweb.com/website/perplexity.ai/

2. Search Analytics Platforms

• SEMRush: https://www.semrush.com/blog/

• Sistrix: https://www.sistrix.com/blog/

• SparkToro: https://sparktoro.com/blog/

Industry News Sites:

1. Search Engine Journal https://www.searchenginejournal.com/ (Your provided article was from here)

2. Search Engine Land https://searchengineland.com/ Particularly their SGE coverage: https://searchengineland.com/google-sge

3. The Information https://www.theinformation.com/topics/artificial-intelligence

Official Company Sources:

1. OpenAI Blog https://openai.com/blog

2. Google Search Central Blog https://developers.google.com/search/blog

3. Perplexity AI Blog https://blog.perplexity.ai/

4. Microsoft Bing Webmaster Blog https://blogs.bing.com/webmaster/

Tech News Coverage:

1. TechCrunch AI Section https://techcrunch.com/category/artificial-intelligence/

2. The Verge AI Coverage https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence

3. WIRED AI Coverage https://www.wired.com/tag/artificial-intelligence/

Research & Analysis:

1. Statista AI & Search Reports https://www.statista.com/topics/6170/artificial-intelligence-ai-worldwide/

2. Gartner AI Research https://www.gartner.com/en/topics/artificial-intelligence