- Employees increasingly using AI bots like ChatGPT when searching for information online
- Preparation and refinement of responses the key benefit over search engines
- In parallel, GAIO (AI chatbot optimization) ever more important
Traditional search engines still hold a dominant position in the market, with 69 percent of people predominantly using them when searching for information online (see Chart 1). One in five (21.4%) marketing and communications professionals, however, are already just as happy to use AI chatbots as search engines for their research. These are the results of a recent survey conducted by market research company Civey on behalf of DMEXCO. “The survey results clearly indicate that the dominance of search engines is not set in stone. These are early days yet, but the direction of travel here is already clear among marketers in particular,” said Verena Gründel, DMEXCO’s Brand & Communications Director.
In contrast, traditional search engines still rank significantly higher among employees across all industries. Only just under nine percent of these are using traditional search engines and AI-based chatbots equally in their searches (see Chart 2). The percentage of employees who prefer using search engines is somewhat higher at 72 percent.
When asked about the benefits of AI-based chatbots over search engines such as Google, the marketing experts mainly indicated the nature of the responses. The preparation, refinement, and summarization of responses was seen as a major benefit by 36 percent, while 34 percent pointed to the time saving and 17 percent the ability to engage in dialog. Detailed explanations and personalized responses were considered a plus factor compared to traditional search engines by 14 and 11 percent respectively (see Chart 3).
It’s hardly surprising, therefore, that the marketing industry is ramping up its efforts to position its services and products in responses from ChatGPT and the like. Although this discipline is still relatively new and the mechanisms and algorithms underpinning these chatbots are not transparent, just under 24 percent of marketers say they are taking steps in this area (see Chart 4). This includes optimizing keywords (21%), improving social media presence (17%), and working on better structuring the content and presentation of current topics (both 15%). “It’s fair to say that GAIO – generative AI optimization – will soon be as commonplace as SEO,” said Verena Gründel. “Every marketing department should get to grips with this topic in the next while. I would already expect us to see agencies specializing in GAIO soon.”
“In terms of search engine logic to date, SEO and SEA are two established disciplines where there is at least some degree of transparency regarding the basic rules. When it comes to AI systems, however, advertisers and brands are not able to discern why they are included in the few recommendations or get overlooked. Therefore, speed and transparency are needed, especially as the systems are already providing responses,” emphasized Julian Simons, Vice President of the German Association for the Digital Economy (BVDW).
About the survey
Commissioned by DMEXCO, market research company Civey conducted an online survey of 2,500 employees across various sectors and 500 marketing and advertising professionals between July 18 and August 15, 2024.
The charts for this survey are available here.
You can find more image material here.
