How ChatGPT Is Changing the Search Landscape

Wes Parker, Managing Director at DemandMore, explains what site owners need to know about LLMs and the search landscape.

For over two decades, Google has been the go to way find information online. With a consistent market share of around 90% over the last 10 years, it has dominated how people discover financial products, compare them, and buy them. But that dominance is now being tested by AI-powered search agents, led by ChatGPT and Perplexity.

The Rise of AI in Search

ChatGPT, developed by OpenAI, has emerged as the dominant player in the new world of search. Since its public launch, it has grown at a pace that dwarfs historical benchmarks, hitting 100 million daily users three times faster than Google did. While it still only accounts for a fraction of the total global search volume compared to Google (which sees around 14 billion daily searches), its gathering momentum.

ChatGPT has pioneered a new kind of search experience: one that’s conversational and focused on delivering direct answers, a shift that is already reshaping user behavior.

A Shift in How Users Search

Traditional search relies on short, keyword-based queries. Think “best credit card deals” or “cheap car insurance” In contrast, ChatGPT users are engaging with search in a much more natural and nuanced way. The average prompt on ChatGPT is 23 words long, compared to just 4.2 words on Google. That difference reflects how people are starting to treat AI assistants more like humans.

Interestingly, while ChatGPT usage is growing rapidly, the majority of its searches aren’t transactional. Just 2.3% of prompts are commercial in nature. Most are informational, assistant-driven, or navigational. Which tells us people are using it more for research, planning, and learning than for purchasing financial services, at least for now.

Who’s Using ChatGPT?

Demographics reveal that the platform is skewed toward a younger audience. Over 45% of ChatGPT users are under the age of 25, and 62.3% are male. As digital natives, these younger users are more comfortable experimenting with new platforms, and they’re helping drive the broader shift toward AI-driven tools.

What Will Happen to Google?

Despite ChatGPT’s growth, Google is still by far the largest search platform. However, its market share is projected to decline. Analysts forecast Google’s grip on search could drop from 90% to somewhere between 65% and 85% by 2030, as ChatGPT gains ground with a potential 5–25% share.

Financial Services Discovery Is Evolving

ChatGPT offers quicker “intent to outcome.” Instead of scrolling through a list of links, users can ask for personalised suggestions and get direct, helpful answers.

The way people discover financial services, from insurance and loans to investment advice, is undergoing a major transformation with the rise of conversational AI.

Traditionally, someone looking for financial products might Google phrases like “best credit cards 2025” or “mortgage broker near me.” These keyword-driven searches would return a list of links, requiring the user to sift through articles, comparison sites, and provider websites.

Now, with ChatGPT, users can take a more natural, conversational approach. They might start by asking: “Can you help me compare income protection policies based on payout periods and exclusions?”

Instead of reading through multiple sources, users get summarised, tailored responses, often followed by clarifying questions from the AI that further refine their options. This interactive style mimics speaking with a financial advisor, making it more accessible and less intimidating for consumers.

AI agents are helping users navigate complex decisions. For example, someone might say: “I’m 35, earning £60K a year, with £10K in savings, what should I be doing to prepare for retirement?” The assistant can then provide a breakdown of possible strategies (e.g., ISAs, pensions, ETFs), risk considerations, and even recommend next steps, like booking a consultation with a financial planner.

This conversational search model is reshaping how trust is built in the financial services space. Rather than being overwhelmed with ads or biased comparison tables, users get guided information that feels more personal and objective.

As AI agents begin to integrate with financial service platforms, from investment apps to banking tools, the user journey could soon span from discovery to application within a single conversation.

The Fragmented Future of Search

Search is no longer confined to a single platform. Users are increasingly splitting their attention across multiple platforms, from YouTube to TikTok, Instagram, Pinterest, and now, ChatGPT. This fragmentation will only grow as more platforms and new voice driven hardware is introduced, such as that debuted by OpenAI and Jony Ive.

Perplexity is gaining traction by offering AI-powered search engines that combine conversational AI with real-time results and citations. Google is also responding by integrating AI summaries into search results and experimenting with ad placements in those summaries as they battle to keep share.

What It Means for Marketers

For marketers, the rise of AI in search represents both a challenge and an opportunity. Those that evolve from a single search engine approach to a “search everywhere” approach will win. Financial services comapnies now need to consider how to get their products and content surfaced in AI agents like ChatGPT and Perplexity as well as in search results on Tiktok.

This includes optimising for conversational queries, building trust & authority and ensuring structured data is available for AI models to parse. It also means preparing for a world where the “zero-click search” becomes standard, with users getting their answers directly from an AI summary without ever visiting a website.

Final Thoughts

We’re at the beginning of a seismic shift in how people search for information, discover products, and interact with the digital world. ChatGPT is not replacing Google overnight, but it is changing user expectations. As AI-powered assistants become more capable, the companies that adapt early will be best positioned to capture attention, drive conversions, and thrive in this new landscape.

Want to know more? DemandMore is running are webinar to dive into this on Tuesday 9^th September 11am – 11:30am. You can register here.