People Are Using AI as a Replacement for Search

It used to always be Google when it came to search, but a recent study shared by OpenAI shows that people are using LLMs in a manner that is very similar to how they used Google.

21.3% of ChatGPT interactions, for example, are about seeking information, 28.3% are about practical guidance, and 7.5% are about technical help.

The data was based on 1.1 million sampled conversations between May 15, 2024 and June 26, 2025.

“While users can seek information and advice from traditional web search engines as well as from ChatGPT, the ability to produce writing, software code, spreadsheets, and other digital products distinguishes generative AI from existing technologies,” the report says. “ChatGPT is also more flexible than web search even for traditional applications like Seeking Information and Practical Guidance, because users receive customized responses (e.g., tailored workout plans, new product ideas, ideas for fantasy football team names) that represent newly generated content or novel modification of user-provided content and follow-up requests.”

ChatGPT’s crossover as a search engine is already going one step further. Last week the company announced that it was partnering with Stripe on in-chat checkout.

“The flow is simple: a ChatGPT user asks for product recommendations in the chat,” Stripe said of it. “When they are ready to buy, they are presented with a Stripe-powered checkout inline in the chat.”

And just as recently, ChatGPT is now also leaning into auto-complete queries, similar to what Google already does.

Typing “line of cred” into a query box, for example, shows “line of credit options for small businesses” as a potential query for the user to choose from.