Hi there,

Your feeds are probably inundated with news about the launch of OpenAi's SearchGPT.

The sentiment around the launch of SearchGPT is that Google may finally have a serious competitor in search.

My take?
​
​It's overdue.
​
In recent years, Google has drifted far from its original "Don't be evil" mantra:
​
😡 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐟𝐭: Google put Prabhakar Raghavan, former head of Google Ads, in charge of Search. Since then, organic search space has shrunk, making more room for paid ads. Read "The Man Who Killed Google Search", for a brief history on Raghavan.
​
😡 𝐑𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐀𝐈 𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐭: Google launched an underdeveloped AI (AIO) experience, yielding strange, often inaccurate results. This release felt reactive to competitors, rather than strategic.
​
😡 𝐀𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐲 𝐭𝐨𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐨𝐰𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬: Google advised that those affected by previous updates shouldn’t expect recovery, even with new updates on the horizon.
​
😡 𝐀𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬
​
😡 𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲
​
😡 𝐀𝐠𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬
​
😩 𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐠𝐥𝐞, 😠 𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐠𝐥𝐞, 😡 𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐠𝐥𝐞...
​
To a degree, I understand Google’s trajectory.
​
Google is a publicly traded company; they owe an allegiance to their shareholders; to increased profits.
​
But it feels like the very people who made Google’s search successful—content creators, users, even their own workforce—now come second (if that).
​
It’s no more “Don’t be evil” than it is “Don’t be evil to the shareholders.”
​
That’s the nature of business, I suppose.
​
Back to SearchGPT entering the playing field…
​
Competition is healthy.
​
It drives innovation and moves things forward.
​
Google may be huge, but they're still part of an ever-evolving ecosystem.
​
A new competitor could genuinely shake up their dominance in search.
​
As users and practitioners, let’s hope this means better products—whether from Google or SearchGPT.

What do you think about the launch of SearchGPT? Would love to hear your thoughts!

Edwin Romero

Independent SEO Consultant

• Follow me on LinkedIn and Twitter.
• Subscribe to the YouTube channel, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.