For decades now, users have relied on search engines to navigate the vast amount of information online and find the answer to everything from the latest news to recipes.

But thanks to new technology, mainly artificial intelligence, search engines are changing… and fast.

The evolution of search engines

The early days of the internet, way back in the 1990s when the first ever search engine – Archie – was invented, relied on simple algorithms that matched keywords with people’s queries.

As the internet grew, so did the sophistication of search engines, however, they continued to lack the ability to understand the context and intent behind user queries.

Google then joined the scene in 1998 and revolutionised the space with its PageRank algorithm.

Google was able to analyse the popularity of web pages based on the number of links pointing to them.

This improved search results and made Google the most popular search engine.

Google’s dominance remained uncontested for over 20 years until OpenAI’s advanced AI technology, Chat-GPT, marked a new era of search engine capabilities in November 2022.

Unlike traditional search engines, ChatGPT uses natural language processing and machine learning to understand a user’s queries and provide a response.

What’s next?

TRAFCK believe the internet is at a crossroads.

Google has been the leading search engine since 1999 but has faced mass criticism about user experience on the platform in recent years which has played straight into the hands of AI alternatives such as ChatGPT and Perplexity.

Many believe Google’s search engine results pages are filled with sponsored posts, ad-filled content, unreliable sources and useless results.

According to AI-generated search engine Perplexity, the future of search will provide answers and not links.

Perplexity said: “The ten blue links they provide have transformed into sponsored posts, advertisements, or clunky, ad-filled blogs”.

‘Zero-click’ searches aren’t new though. In 2022, SEMRush found 17.3% of Google searches on mobile were ‘zero-click’ which means Google provided the answer without there being a need to click a link on the search engine results page (SERP).

And with Google set to roll out Search Generative Experience (SGE) as soon as May 14, 2024 (not confirmed), we’re at a pivotal point in search engine history.

TRAFCK’s opinions

1) Move from ‘search’ to ‘ask’

Search engines will aim to directly answer user queries as opposed to providing a list of links.

Although we believe there will always be a place for links, there will naturally be less real estate for traditional organic search results.

Search engines will leverage AI and integrate it into search to provide summaries, insights, and diverse viewpoints on topics.

We predict there will be up to a 60% decline in website traffic in the next 3 years.

2) Personalisation

Search results will become more personalised based on a user’s search history and location and cater to individuals’ preferences.

We will see the growth of Google Discover as a result.

3) More ‘search channels’

We believe Google will lose hold of their monopolisation as a search engine as we continue to see user behaviours shift.

The rise of TikTok, which has gained popularity as a search engine amongst the younger generation, as well as YouTube and Amazon will continue to dent Google’s dominance.

We believe the future of traffic for website will come from Google Discover – Google’s personalized content feed that surfaces articles and videos based on a user’s interests and browsing history.

TRAFCK has developed a series of successful strategies to optimise websites for Google Discover. Contact us at hi@trafck.co.uk to find out more information and keep your business thriving online.