ChatGPT Search vs. Google Search: What it means for SEO

As the digital landscape evolves, traditional search engines like Google are facing new competition. OpenAI’s ChatGPT has become a groundbreaking tool in conversational AI. It now introduces a feature that places it in direct competition with Google’s Search Engine. This integration, called ChatGPT Search (CGS), marks the beginning of a new era in AI-driven search.

What does this mean for businesses, especially in terms of SEO?

In this post, we’ll dive into how CGS works, how it differs from Google Search and what businesses and Marketing specialists need to know in order to stay ahead of the curve.

ChatGPT Search (CGS): what’s new?

ChatGPT Search introduces a shift in how users interact with search engines. Unlike traditional search engines, which provide lists of links, CGS delivers direct, contextual answers in a conversational interface.

Here’s a breakdown of its key features:

• Contextual and conversational: ChatGPT doesn’t just return results; it understands the conversation context. This means if you ask follow-up questions, it tailors its responses based on previous queries, providing a more fluid and personalised experience
• Integrated web search: While CGS primarily operates as a chatbot, it can pull web results when needed. It’s not just a static database but a dynamic tool that understands when to use real-time information.
• Bolder source attribution: CGS prominently features links to sources, ensuring that users know where the information comes from. This is an improvement over traditional search engine results that can sometimes feel like a black box.
• Optimised for specific queries: Unlike Google, where users often need to dig through multiple links, ChatGPT can immediately answer specific questions, saving time and reducing search clutter.

The comparison below, based on data from Similarweb for ChatGPT’s user engagement metrics with other popular websites highlights its rapid growth and potential to reshape the search landscape.

Why ChatGPT’s Search integration is a game changer

The shift from traditional search engines to AI-powered solutions like ChatGPT represents more than just an interface change — it’s a paradigm shift in how information is delivered. Here’s why:

• Less noise, more precision: Google’s search results are heavily influenced by paid advertisements, SEO strategies and SEO keyword stuffing. ChatGPT’s AI-driven results are designed to give direct answers without the distractions of ads or irrelevant results.
• Content-first experience: With traditional search, results are based on the ranking of websites, often leading to a first-page experience full of sponsored results. ChatGPT’s search results focus primarily on content quality and context, offering a deeper, richer answer.
• Referral traffic shift: As users begin to prefer direct answers over browsing traditional websites, businesses will need to rethink how they drive traffic to their sites. Instead of focusing solely on search engine rankings, businesses may need to adapt to the AI-driven search methods that prioritise meaningful content directly available in AI interfaces.

Traditional Google Search: The SEO Status Quo

Google Search remains the dominant player in the search market. For years, SEO strategies have been centred around optimising content to rank highly in Google’s organic results. Here’s a look at how Google works:

• Keyword rankings: Google ranks web pages based on factors like keyword relevance, backlinks, content quality, and site speed.
• Click-Through-Rate (CTR) and Organic traffic: Websites that rank higher in Google’s search results tend to drive more traffic, especially with featured snippets and local pack results.
• Paid ads and SERP clutter: A significant portion of Google’s search results is taken up by ads, which means that businesses must bid for top spots on search results pages.
• User engagement and signals: Google uses complex algorithms that analyse user behaviour. Examples of data include time spent on a page, bounce rates and site interactions. These help determine rankings.

In an article on the Google Search Blog, Danny Sullivan and Chris Nelson emphasise that Google’s ranking systems prioritise rewarding original, high-quality content, regardless of how it’s produced. Here’s an excerpt from their post:

How SEO is changing with ChatGPT Search

ChatGPT’s integration of search may lead to a major shift in SEO strategies. Let’s break down the major impacts:

1. AI-driven content optimisation

With ChatGPT focusing on understanding context, businesses will need to optimise content in ways that AI can understand and deliver as direct answers. Here’s how SEO may evolve:

• Focus on high-quality, direct content: Content should be crafted to answer specific questions directly and clearly. AI is designed to prioritise answers that best satisfy user queries.
• Avoid keyword stuffing: Traditional SEO techniques like keyword stuffing may lose their efficacy in an AI-driven search environment. Instead, focus on natural language processing (NLP) and user intent.
• Contextual relevance: Create content that is contextually rich and responds to user intent over individual keywords. This will help make your content more discoverable in conversational AI-driven platforms.

2. Long-tail keywords and conversational queries

ChatGPT’s conversational nature allows users to ask complex, multi-faceted questions. This shift will likely result in:

• Rise of long-tail keywords: People are using more specific, detailed queries. Long-tail keywords (e.g., “how to improve my SEO ranking in 2024”) are likely to become more important as ChatGPT focuses on providing answers to these types of questions.
• More natural queries: Content needs to be optimised for voice search and conversational queries. Structured data like FAQ sections or well-organised content will likely perform better in AI search scenarios.

3. Search visibility through AI integrations

Since ChatGPT relies on various sources for its answers, businesses with strong visibility on Bing and other search engines might have an edge, as:

• Bing’s role in ChatGPT: Currently, ChatGPT uses Bing’s search results to ground some of its answers. As such, businesses that perform well in Bing’s search rankings might see increased visibility within ChatGPT Search.
• Referral traffic monitoring: Tools like GA4 and specialised dashboards will help you monitor how AI search is affecting your referral traffic. Monitoring performance on AI search platforms will become crucial.

4. SEO will still be relevant – for now…

Although ChatGPT is changing the game, traditional SEO techniques still matter, particularly in the short to medium term. Businesses should continue to:

• Invest in website SEO: Traditional SEO is still a vital part of AI search visibility. Websites that rank well on Google and Bing are likely to get higher visibility in ChatGPT Search.
• Diversify content strategy: Mix SEO efforts with AI-driven strategies like content optimisation for direct answers, NLP focus and long-tail keyword integration.

The road ahead: how SEO agencies should prepare

At Think, we recommend businesses take a proactive approach to SEO by:

1. Monitoring AI Search trends: Stay informed about developments in ChatGPT Search, Google’volving AI policies, and how other AI search engines are shaping the future of SEO.
2. Experimenting with AI-optimised content (Carefully): Start experimenting with AI-driven content in a responsible way, focusing on high-quality output, clarity and user intent. It’s crucial to ensure that any AI-generated content aligns with Google’s E-E-A-T guidelines and is created to benefit users first, not just to rank in search engines.
3. Diversifying Marketing efforts: Invest in both traditional SEO and AI-driven search optimisation strategies to hedge against changing algorithms. Balancing AI content experiments with classic SEO practices will protect against any unforeseen penalties while taking advantage of the emerging AI search trend.
4. Leveraging data and analytics: Use AI search traffic metrics to measure the effectiveness of your strategies and make data-driven decisions. Experimentation should be monitored closely to ensure content quality remains a top priority.

A new era of search is here!

As ChatGPT Search and AI-powered platforms begin to rival Google, businesses need to rethink their SEO strategies. While the traditional SEO tactics still play a role, a shift towards AI optimisation is inevitable. By understanding and adapting to this new model, businesses can ensure they remain competitive in this rapidly changing search landscape.