AI-Powered Search Engines: 3 Ways It Will Change Digital Marketing

I got to be honest. Writing this article, I had help from ChatGPT (an AI language model). While not to the extent of it (he, she or they?) writing the article for me, but good enough proof that the future of work is indeed changing.

First, a quick premier to set the context. 

What is ChatGPT and why is it causing an AI browser war?

ChatGPT is an AI language model developed by OpenAI. Since its web interface version was released to the public in November 2022, it has taken the world by storm due to its capability to generate human-like text and its ability to perform a wide range of tasks such as answering questions, summarising text, and producing creative writing.

Most recently, Google fired the first salvo when they announced their own experimental AI chat service, Bard, which will be accessible in the upcoming weeks. A couple of days later, Microsoft (which has already invested $1 billion into OpenAI) announced that it is launching a new Bing with OpenAI’s GPT-4 model (ChatGPT was built using GPT-3 which only has data until 2021). This will provide a ChatGPT-like experience within the search engine. In addition, Microsoft is planning to include AI features in their Edge browser as well.

This kicks off the AI wars between Microsoft and Google. As we pray that this will not degenerate into an ending like The Matrix, let’s check out the three biggest impacts AI-powered search engines will have on us Digital Marketers.

Search Marketing To Take Larger Proportion of Ad Marketing Spend

With access to the user’s search history, location and behaviour, AI-powered search engines will deliver highly personalised search results and advertisements that can be used to create more effective targeted marketing campaigns. This would lead to higher conversion rates and better ROAS (return on ad spend) for digital marketers. As a result, it would be expected that our investment in Search Marketing will only grow in importance.

Furthermore, with Microsoft’s Bing returning with a vengeance like a Jedi, we will no longer be able to get away with just Google SEM (search engine marketing). Time to broaden our Search Marketing repertoire and pick up Bing advertising.

Increased Efficiency Leading to a New Breed of Digital Marketers

Imagining having JARVIS (Ironman) or Griot (Black Panther) helping you with your manual tasks. It is highly possible that AI-powered search engines may automate many of our manual tasks such as keyword research and bid management. This will free up precious time and resources and thus allow us to focus on more strategic initiatives.

This means that we as Digital Marketers will need to develop and focus on other skillsets besides technical expertise such as strategic thinking, creativity and problem-solving. 

Unique Content is Required to Stand Out

As AI-powered search engines focus more on conversational results instead of the traditional search query results, search engines will likely drive fewer clicks to your content.

In a world where AI may synthesise large amounts of data to produce a summarised answer, sites with similar content will be buried away. Therefore to stand out, an even greater importance will be placed on creating unique content. A tip here would be to add your own unique view on top of what AI services like ChatGPT provides.

In conclusion, AI-powered search engines will transform digital marketing by improving the ROI through enhanced targeting, creating a new breed of digital marketers, and forcing content creation to be more unique. 

What other ways do you think AI-powered search engines will affect us as Digital Marketers?