Microsoft Bing Search Engine Market Share Remains Unchanged Despite ChatGPT Integration

Last February, Microsoft Corp. made headlines by integrating ChatGPT into its Bing search engine. Optimistic analysts likened this strategic move to a groundbreaking “iPhone moment,” potentially disrupting the search market and challenging Google’s stronghold.

“The entire search category is now undergoing a major transformation,” CEO Satya Nadella said at the time. “That opportunity comes very rarely.”

Almost a year later, the sea still hasn’t changed.

The new Bing – powered by OpenAI’s generative AI technology – dazzled internet users with conversational answers to questions in a natural way. But according to data analytics firm StatCounter, the increase is less than a percentage point since the ChatGPT announcement.

Bing has long struggled for relevance, attracting more derision than recognition as a serious alternative to Google over the years. Several rebrands and redesigns since its 2009 debut did little to boost Bing’s popularity. According to SensorTower, in the month before Microsoft added generative AI to the search engine, people spent 33% less time using it than 12 months earlier.

Restarting ChatGPT at least helped reverse these rejections. In the second quarter of 2023, US monthly active users more than doubled from a year ago to 3.1 million, according to a Bloomberg Intelligence analysis of SensorTower mobile app data. Overall, users spent 84% more time on the search engine, the data shows. According to SensorTower, the number of monthly active users of Bing had grown steadily to 4.4 million by the end of the year.

To push the pace, Microsoft has added more AI tools to Bing. In October, the company integrated the latest version of OpenAI’s image formation model DALL-E 3. It allows visitors to create realistic-looking images with simple text prompts.

The offer does not improve Bing’s search performance. However, according to Jordi Ribas, vice president of Microsoft’s search and artificial intelligence department, its addition caused spikes in usage.

“We saw a 10-fold increase in usage, and that surprised us because if you think about it, DALL-E 2 was already pretty good,” he said in an interview. “It really affected engagement and users coming to our product.”

Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft’s head of consumer marketing, declined to specify how many active users Bing has.

“Look, it’s still early days and new behaviors are being built,” he said. “We’re still learning new things, but millions of people are using new tools.”

While the Bing team is adding crowd pleasers, Google has been racing to develop its own AI tools. In May, it launched an experimental version of its search engine called a “search-generating experience” that offers conversational answers over a familiar list of links. Called SGE for short, it is still not widely available. However, Google plans to embed its most powerful major language model into Gemini’s SGE sometime this year.

The Alphabet Inc. division also has considerable advantages. It has more than 90% of the market and is the default search engine on Apple Inc. hardware, including iPhones, giving Google crucial critical mass. The more people use it, the more the search engine knows, and the more Google can use that information to produce and rank results in a way that people find useful.

The search retooling by both tech giants reflects a shared belief that generative artificial intelligence will fundamentally change the way people search for and receive answers online. For Microsoft, the change is an opportunity to move Bing forward. But the extras so far make it clear that the lively AI features alone probably won’t turn it into a formidable search player.

“We’re in a gold rush when it comes to artificial intelligence and search,” said Shane Greenstein, an economist and professor at Harvard Business School who has studied the commercialization of the Internet. “Right now, I doubt AI will move the needle because search requires a flywheel: the more searches, the better the answers. Google is the only company that has this dynamic established.”

Still, Greenstein said, as an underdog, Bing has more leeway to experiment. “Google needs to be careful not to damage its brand and product when testing new AI tools,” he said. “Bing can afford to take the risk. It has nothing to lose.”

Microsoft is also betting that generative AI will change the way advertisers share their search spend. The current advertising model is based on cost-per-click, but AI-powered searches make consumers get answers faster and more directly without blue links, according to marketing manager Mehdi.

“We have advertisers who tell us they’re getting better results because of our AI work and are deeply interested in how this works,” he said.

Also read these top stories of today:

Samsung vs Apple! Samsung introduced the Galaxy S24 series with AI features to create a dominant position in the market. Could it reclaim the smartphone throne after losing to Apple in 2023? See how Samsung plans to beat Apple here.

Samsung Galaxy S24 released! Samsung’s latest flagship smartphones were unveiled with updated features at the Galaxy Unpacked event in California. It goes hand in hand with Apple’s iPhone 15. Check out the technical comparison between Samsung Galaxy S24 and iPhone 15. Know how it differs from its top competitor here.

“Just the right” robots! Moxie is the size of a teddy bear and powered by generative artificial intelligence, and can interact with children by telling them stories, giving math lessons and performing dance moves with two hands. Want to know more? Read here.