You think of a question, type and search for it, and the search engines check its database and show you the pages related to your search terms. This was how search engines worked till now. With the introduction of AI chatbots like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Bard, and Bing’s Sydney, it has become difficult for website owners to attract visitors.
No doubt that AI has several advantages, but it also comes with several disadvantages. In this article, we will explore the merits and demerits of artificial intelligence (AI) with regards to search; and how search engine optimization (SEO) will no longer be the same after the introduction of AI Chatbots.
What is an AI Chatbot?
AI Chatbot is not a new concept. Google and Microsoft have been working on AI chatbots for years. The idea gained popularity after OpenAI launched its Chatbot, ChatGPT, with the generative AI technology of GPT in November 2022.
ChatGPT has been trained on large data models found on the open internet. It can generate answers based on the prompt given by the user. It can generate creative essays, poems, stories, complete articles, codes, equations, and almost everything.
Soon after its launch, Google announced its chatbot, and Microsoft announced a collaboration with OpenAI.
Quick fact: Elon Musk was one of the founders of OpenAI, but he left the company in 2018 because of a “conflict of interest” between him and the other board of directors.
How is it useful for writers?
As mentioned above, AI Chatbots can create several things, including blog posts, essays, stories, and articles. It can assist writers in completing their work quickly and more efficiently.
But the question is, do Search Engines allow AI-generated content?
Google answers it by stating in their blog post: they do not care how the content was generated - whether it was a human or an AI - they need the best and high-quality content to present to their users.
Chatbots can help to get the necessary information in seconds, which would require hours of research if done manually. They can help to implement the writing style of other writers, which can make your content more engaging and professional.
AI can also help you present your content more accurately and in a way that will make readers happy and satisfied after reading it.
Alas, it is just fun to use new technologies.
The negative impact AI Chatbots can have on SEO
With the introduction of AI chatbots, users, like you, prefer to go to the chatbot with their queries. The AI-powered chatbot can summarise the information from several articles into one long answer. No doubt that sometimes it can provide wrong information.
With other people preferring chatbots over search engines, the website could lose hundreds of thousands of visitors.
The Chatbots take their data from the Internet - may include your website too - and compile it into one simple and to-the-point answer, which they present to the user.
Microsoft’s Sydney does credit the websites from which it has taken data, but how many people would click on that?
The introduction of generative AI has advantages but more disadvantages. Search Engines should think of a solution that would benefit both - their business and the website owners.
Also published here