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ChatGPT beats Google, hits 365 bn-mark in annual searches with 5.5 times faster growth
ChatGPT reached 365 billion annual searches just two years after launch. It had taken Google 11 years to achieve the same feat. 'We've never seen anything like the user growth of ChatGPT, particularly outside the US,' analyst Mary Meeker says read more
ChatGPT has grown at a breakneck speed that dwarfs Google's ascent. Representational image/Reuters
ChatGPT reached 365 billion annual searches just two years after launch, achieving a growth rate more than five times faster than Google's early years, according to a recent report by prominent technology analyst Mary Meeker.
Meeker's latest report, titled Trends: Artificial Intelligence, notes ChatGPT's rapid ascent to mass utility, a milestone Google took 11 years to achieve. ChatGPT's swift global adoption underscores how quickly artificial intelligence is reshaping consumer behaviour and technological landscapes.
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'We've never seen anything like the user growth of ChatGPT, particularly outside the US, and it shows how the global dynamics of tech and distribution have changed,' Meeker told Axios.
However, comparisons between ChatGPT and Google's launch in 1998 are met with skepticism by some analysts. Google debuted when global internet access was limited, household connectivity was growing slowly, and smartphones were nonexistent. ChatGPT, by contrast, launched into a digital ecosystem primed with widespread smartphone penetration, high internet accessibility, and mature cloud infrastructure.
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"It's saying, 'We are not breaking up, and we'll fight you tooth and nail in court,'" he said. "Microsoft might have won, but the stock was flat for 10 years. They were so focused on fighting the Department of Justice they didn't notice the rise of mobile devices or cloud computing." After the government sued Microsoft, David Readerman of Endurance Capital Partners said, "litigation was a major distraction to Microsoft business unit heads: email retrieval, depositions, et al. There were Xerox document copying centers fenced under the buildings for security reasons." Microsoft did not recover its momentum until Satya Nadella became CEO in 2014. Google's competitors would presumably be happy with smaller Googles, although maybe not. IBM had a dominant position in computing for years, if not decades, probably even greater than that of Google now. The government pursued an antitrust case against it starting in the late 1960s. Some in the industry thought this was a problematic move. Dick Brandon of Brandon Applied Systems, a computer consulting firm, told The New York Times in 1972 that "I would prefer to compete against one I.B.M. than two, three, four, or even eight similarly managed competitors without the present gloves that have been tied on in fear of antitrust action." (END OPTIONAL TRIM.) Another issue shadowing any talk of a breakup: Owing to Google's unusual share structure, major changes could never be undertaken without the approval of the two founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin . And founders tend to be emotionally attached to what they have created. But "never say never," said Kovacevich, who worked in public policy at Google for many years. " Larry and Sergey like bold, unconventional moves," he added. "Could they decide at some point this would be beneficial to the company? Sure. Any business leader should keep all options on the table."
