Source: Search Engine Journal
Rather than cannibalizing Google's core business, AI tools are fragmenting where consumers get answers—they're conducting fewer traditional searches but staying within Google's ecosystem through AI Overviews and other AI-powered features. Google's real competitive threat isn't from standalone AI chatbots like ChatGPT, but from its own ability to capture query value before users click through to publisher websites, further concentrating traffic and ad revenue within its walled garden.