During his visit to Washington this week, Sam Altman, OpenAI’s Chief Executive highlighted the growing presence of AI aiming to promote responsible growth and hinting at new tools, while signs of a possible Google decline raise stakes ahead of DevDay on October 6.
As lawmakers debate AI legislation and Big Tech to reposition themselves, Altman’s carefully placing his company as a force of inclusive progress, not a disruptor. As its main product ChatGPT becomes more embedded in our lives, OpenAI is founding a world in which AI is no longer reserved for technology elites.
OpenAI’s next step, perhaps the highly anticipated GPT-5, could be the turning point for changing the way we access information, work, and engage online.
Google and OpenAI Are Racing to Rewire the Internet
ChatGPT now handles around 2.5 billion prompts per day, with 330 million of those from the US. Eight months ago, that figure was one billion.
To put this in perspective, Google processes an estimated 14 to 16 billion searches per day, but the margin is rapidly narrowing, with signs of ChatGPT evidently influencing the way people get information.
Until recently, the very idea of a Google search traffic decline and ChatGPT impact was unthinkable. As researcher Rand Fishkin says, the average American desktop user still has 126 Google searches per month, but some consumers are employing AI tools for faster answers, get subjects summarized, or have ideas generated instead of spending time on links.
Google then introduced its own “Search Generative Experience” in response, trying to catch up on the competition. However, critics point to Google’s AI missteps, including confusing results and slow rollouts.
The response to its AI overviews backlash shows how critical this shift can be.
The bigger concern is financial. Google’s core search ad business brought in $175 billion in the past year. However, if fewer people click on ads, that stream of revenue could dry up. Therefore, experts fear a Google ad revenue decline, especially if AI responses cut into paid searches.
Meanwhile, OpenAI’s growth continues. Altman’s team is promoting ChatGPT not just as a tool, but as a platform for future applications. Observers believe we’re witnessing Google dethroned in real time, especially if users continue to ditch Google Chrome in favor of AI-enhanced browsers.
GPT-5, The Turning Point
OpenAI’s upcoming DevDay event on October 6 in San Francisco, with over 1,500 developers expected to attend, may give a first look at GPT-5. Despite the setbacks due to computing shortfalls, Altman remains optimistic.
“There is a ton of stuff to do in the world,” he tweeted in response to concerns that AI would steal jobs from human beings.
The vision remains unharmed: build intelligence “too cheap to meter,” and hand it out in the hands of everybody. Such a move might stand in blunt contrast to Alphabet restructuring, as Google’s parent firm struggles with internal changes to address AI challenges. The firm’s huge turn towards incorporating its Gemini AI could be what it takes to survive the Google decline.
Final Thoughts
As OpenAI technology continues to improve, closer collaboration can also be expected. There have been rumors of a Google and OpenAI integration down the line, with speculation from some tech insiders as the squeeze to innovate quickly continues.
Will GPT-5 go public in October? Will OpenAI command a premium like some of the competition? For now, developers and users alike are eagerly awaiting it. Everyone is aware that how we search, create, and learn will perhaps never be the same. But one thing for sure, Google decline is no longer an assumption, it’s a growing fact.
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