Is ChatGPT Microsoft’s Trojan Horse?

Have you given thought to the implications of recent advertisements about Chat GPT4 offered for FREE on Bing?

Microsoft has lagged Google in the search and browser categories forever:

Bing < 10% global search vs. Google > 85% global search

Edge < 10% browser preference vs. Google Chrome > 50% browser preference.

ChatGPT is supported by investors such as Microsoft. Offered for “beta testing” through OpenAI, ChatGPT signed 1 million users the first week, 100 million users by January 2023. The global population is learning how to use AI – and understanding the efficiencies associated with it.

One of the great benefits is in search. It cuts out steps. No longer do you have to wade through search results to find what you are looking for, AI combines information from multiple sites to provide the specific answer you are looking for. Convenience versus Mindfulness. In the age of instant gratification, convenience wins.

Microsoft has blanketed social media with ads about using Chat GPT4 for FREE on Bing – even though it is free today. If OpenAI starts charging for ChatGPT, but you can get it for free on Bing, who is your NEW search engine of choice if you are a heavy ChatGPT user? It will be Microsoft Edge because of this “Chat mode is only available when you have access to the new Bing.” The new Bing is only available on Edge. Checkmate.

As other browsers hosted OpenAI and ChatGPT, little did they know they had accepted a trojan horse.

Millions of users will be moving to Bing to use ChatGPT for free. If they need a conventional search, it is unlikely they will use two browsers. Microsoft is leveraging their AI IP to gain market share in the search and browser space. They will capture a larger share of the advertising spend to begin to recapture their investment.

Come full circle – your marketing strategy. It would be prudent to consider a shift of search preference from Google to Bing and the impact on your digital asset performance.