If the last twenty years were defined by the rise of Google, the next twenty will be defined by the rise of conversational AI. We are living through a moment of profound change in the way people search, learn, and make decisions online. Many Britons have begun to notice that when they want a quick answer, a clear explanation, or a creative option, they no longer instinctively type a query into a search bar. Increasingly, they are turning to ChatGPT.
This shift is not merely technological. It is cultural, behavioural, and economic. Search is how we navigate reality. Whoever shapes search shapes the public’s understanding of the world. And for the first time in decades, Google is no longer the centre of gravity.
As a member of the UK academic community studying digital futures, I believe it is essential that we examine this transformation with both enthusiasm and caution. ChatGPT does not just change the tools we use; it changes what it means to know something, how we choose what information to trust, and how we experience the internet altogether.
To understand why ChatGPT represents such a major shift, it is worth revisiting how traditional search engines gained their power.
Google’s search model is fundamentally based on links. The more a website is linked to, the more authority it is assumed to have. For years, this worked well enough—until it didn’t.
The incentives of search engine optimisation (SEO) gradually reshaped the web. Companies hired teams to game the system, pumping out repetitive content packed with keywords. Countless websites were written not for people, but for algorithms.
Over time, the web became noisy, cluttered, and repetitive. For users, finding real information felt like wading through a swamp of clickbait.
Most people searching on Google now face a series of hurdles:
Ads disguised as results
Sponsored links
SEO-engineered “top ten tips” pages
Pages requesting cookies and subscriptions before revealing answers
The friction grew. The quality seemed to slip. And when people started to feel frustrated, they began to look for alternatives.
Social platforms like TikTok and Instagram pushed the internet towards short bursts of content. Meanwhile, Google’s search results often pushed users towards long, repetitive pages burdened with pop-ups, autoplay videos, and SEO padding.
So when a tool appeared that could answer a question in a straightforward, conversational way—without ads, without pop-ups, without noise—it felt like fresh air.
Traditional search engines point you to websites. ChatGPT gives you an answer.
This simple difference is revolutionary.
When you ask Google a question, you get 10 blue links (plus a handful of ads, shopping suggestions, and knowledge panels). You must judge which link might contain the answer. You must click. You must navigate. You must filter. You must read.
When you ask ChatGPT the same question, you get the answer directly—summarised, organised, contextualised.
For many users, the experience feels not only faster but kinder.
Search engines treat each query as a mostly isolated event. ChatGPT treats queries as part of a conversation.
This means:
You can refine a question naturally
You can ask follow-ups without starting again
You can clarify what you meant
You can ask for the answer in a different tone or format
You can ask for comparisons, examples, or critiques
The model adapts to the user—not the other way around.
Search engines retrieve information.
ChatGPT interprets information.
That is a profound shift.
For instance, if you ask:
“Why are UK housing prices high?”
Google can show you articles written by others.
ChatGPT can synthesise the causes, generate an explanation tailored to your age, knowledge, or learning style, and present it as a coherent narrative. It is not merely pointing to information; it is making sense of it.
Humans are conversational creatures.
We like dialogue.
We like being heard.
We like feeling that responses are tailored to us, even if they are produced by an artificial system.
ChatGPT taps into a fundamentally human preference that search engines have long ignored.
Surveys from universities and digital literacy research groups show a striking pattern: younger users often start with AI, not Google. A first-year undergraduate recently put it to me bluntly:
“Google is where I go when I need sources.
ChatGPT is where I go when I need answers.”
This sentiment is spreading fast.
Google’s entire business model relies on directing users to websites. Yet if people increasingly prefer answers over links, the economic foundation of search begins to wobble.
Publishers fear losing traffic.
Advertisers fear losing eyeballs.
Platforms fear eroding relevance.
The internet’s advertising ecosystem, worth billions, depends on people clicking.
ChatGPT disrupts this behaviour at the root.
ChatGPT, and other emerging AI systems, can integrate search behind the scenes. A future ChatGPT query may combine:
live web data
curated academic sources
news updates
conversational synthesis
The user sees only the final answer, but the underlying model consults multiple sources. In this sense, the AI becomes a “meta-search engine”—one layer above traditional search.
Britain has strong academic and regulatory frameworks, as well as a growing AI ecosystem. But it also has significant debates underway:
How should AI sources be disclosed?
What standards of transparency should apply?
How should AI-generated answers be verified?
What role should UK institutions play in AI literacy?
We must approach these questions with foresight rather than fear.
Trust is the currency of search.
So we must confront the issue plainly.
ChatGPT can misinterpret questions or generate inaccurate statements. However, so can search results. The difference is that ChatGPT’s mistakes are packaged in a confident voice.
The challenge is to teach people to verify information and develop digital critical thinking. Schools and universities must adapt quickly.
Many AI developers are working on new features:
citation links
verifiable sources
cross-checking systems
live search integration
user-controlled transparency settings
If these evolve effectively, AI search could become more traceable and more reliable than traditional web search.
The UK is uniquely positioned to influence global norms around:
ethical AI
trust and safety
digital verification
regulation
independent oversight
A strong academic and civic framework will be essential in shaping how AI search evolves.
ChatGPT will not just alter how we search—it will alter how we live.
Whether choosing:
an energy provider
a mortgage plan
a holiday destination
a mobile contract
AI search can instantly compare options, personalise recommendations, and summarise trade-offs.
The UK consumer protection community must adapt to ensure fairness and transparency.
AI tutors will become normal.
Study sessions will become conversational.
Explanations will adjust to age and ability in real time.
Education will shift from memorising answers to understanding systems.
From drafting emails to analysing data, from summarising meetings to interpreting regulations, AI will become embedded in daily workflows across the UK.
Search becomes a constant, silent collaborator.
As ChatGPT accelerates, we must protect certain values:
AI must not replace judgement.
The public must learn to interrogate AI outputs the same way we interrogate any source.
AI systems must ensure exposure to a diversity of views rather than narrowing thought.
AI tools must be accessible, understandable, and inclusive for all communities in the UK—not only for the digitally affluent.
Users must know where information comes from and how it is generated.
ChatGPT does not mark the end of search engines, but it does mark the end of search as we knew it.
We have entered a new epoch—one where knowledge is not merely retrieved but synthesized, interpreted, and communicated conversationally. This will change how Britons learn, vote, shop, study, work, and understand the world.
The transformation is not optional. It is already happening quietly, rapidly, and irreversibly.
The challenge for Britain is not to resist the future of search but to shape it—wisely, ethically, and confidently.
If we act with foresight, the UK can lead the world in developing a search ecosystem that enhances understanding, strengthens democracy, and improves daily life.
The age of conversational search has begun.
And it is up to us to ensure it becomes a force for good.
