So, what are the differences between ChatGPT and Google Search? Everyone is saying it will take over and consume Goolge Search. But will it? Does it have weaknesses? And if so, what are they?
ChatGPT doesn’t do exactly the same thing Google Search does. But the areas where it overlaps it can save you a lot of time. On the other hand, it may leave you with a little tunnel vision into whatever subject you use it to inquiry about.
The basic differences are that Google Search brings up a list of websites that have something to say about your query. However, it doesn’t give a direct answer and you may have to wade through a lot of reading material to get to your answer. On the other hand, since it refers you to articles written by humans (as of this date anyway), you will often happily stumble upon information about your subject that you hadn’t thought to ask about and you can end up learning more than you expected.
Anyway, why don’t we ask ChatGPT itself and then Google what the advantages and disadvantages are of each? I just asked ChatGPT the following questions:
How does ChatGPT work? ChatGPT is a variant of the GPT (Generative Pretrained Transformer) architecture, developed by OpenAI, that uses deep learning to generate human-like responses to text input. The model is trained on a massive amount of text data and uses a Transformer neural network architecture to generate text. The model takes in a prompt and generates a response by predicting the next word in the sequence, given the context provided by the prompt. This process is repeated until a stopping criterion is reached, such as a maximum number of tokens or a specific token indicating the end of the response. The model uses attention mechanisms to weigh the importance of different words in the input prompt when generating its response, allowing it to generate context-aware and relevant responses.
What can ChatGPT do that Google search can’t do?
ChatGPT has some capabilities that are different from a traditional search engine like Google:
Natural language generation: ChatGPT can generate human-like responses to a prompt, whereas Google search returns a list of links to relevant webpages.
Contextual understanding: ChatGPT can understand the context of a conversation and provide responses that are relevant to the conversation, while Google search returns results based on keywords and doesn’t have the ability to understand context.
Personalized responses: ChatGPT can generate personalized responses based on the input prompt, while Google search returns the same results for the same keywords, regardless of the individual performing the search.
Interactive conversation: ChatGPT can engage in a back-and-forth conversation with a user, while Google search is limited to returning results based on a single query.
Overall, ChatGPT is designed to provide a conversational interface for obtaining information and performing tasks, whereas Google search is optimized for finding specific information on the web.
What can Google search do that ChatGPT can’t do?
Google search has some capabilities that ChatGPT doesn’t have:
Wide coverage: Google search indexes a vast amount of information from the web, including text, images, and videos, while ChatGPT is limited to the text data it was trained on.
Relevance ranking: Google search uses sophisticated algorithms to rank the relevance of web pages for a given query, while ChatGPT generates responses based on the input prompt without considering their relevance.
Verifiable information: Google search provides access to a wide range of information that can be verified through multiple sources, while ChatGPT’s responses are generated based on the information it was trained on and may not always be accurate or up-to-date.
Structured data: Google search can also provide structured data such as results from databases, tables, and graphs, while ChatGPT is limited to generating text responses.
Overall, while ChatGPT is a powerful tool for generating natural language responses, Google search is better suited for finding specific information and data on the web.
————END OF RESPONSES FROM CHATGPT – BACK TO A HUMAN NOW————
So, that was how ChatGPT responded to these questions. It gave quick, concise and precise answers. And on any of these answers you could drill down by asking follow-up questions on any parts of its replies. For instance, when it responded in part by saying that Google provides access to a wide range of information “that can be verified through multiple sources” you could ask it, “How does Google verify search results through multiple sources?” and it would give you this reply:
Google uses a combination of algorithms and human evaluators to verify the information in its search results. Here are a few ways Google does this:
PageRank algorithm: Google’s original PageRank algorithm analyzes the links between webpages to determine their relevance and quality. Pages with many high-quality links are considered more trustworthy and are more likely to appear higher in search results.
Fact-checking: Google works with third-party fact-checkers to identify and label false information in its search results. This allows users to quickly assess the accuracy of information before they click on a result.
User feedback: Google collects feedback from users to help improve the quality of its search results. If a large number of users flag a result as inaccurate or irrelevant, Google may adjust its ranking accordingly.
Human evaluators: Google employs human evaluators, called Quality Raters, to manually review and assess the relevance and quality of its search results. These evaluators provide feedback that helps Google improve the algorithms that generate its results.
While no search engine can guarantee the accuracy of all its results, Google’s combination of algorithms and human evaluators helps it provide the most relevant and trustworthy information possible.
As you can see, you can get as much or as little detail as you like simply by asking or not asking follow-up questions. On the reply above, you could drill down even more by asking for more information on how PageRank algorithms work, etc.
If you ask Google Search the same question, here’s what you get:
Question: What can ChatGPT do that Google search can’t?
As you can see, you’ll get a list of articles that will answer lots of questions related to your query. Some may answer your questions directly but you’ll usually have to wade through a lot of other stuff to get to your answer. BUT… in that process of wading through information you didn’t necessarily ask about you always have an opportunity to learn something more than you were looking for – which is a nice benefit.
However, when you’re in a hurry and just need a down and dirty quick and precise answer – ChatGPT may be the best way to go for now. But if you have more time on your hands and want to get a wider variety of information on your subject, Google is still the way to go.
