What is the makeover of Google’s search?
In a word: online shopping. At an event yesterday, Google explained the progress it’s making in search results. Relying heavily on AI, Google will use something called MUM or the Multitask Unified Model. Google claims that it is 1000 times more powerful than the current BERT model. Using this technology, Google aims to ensure that users don’t actually close its apps and services. For example, if you want to search for sweatshirts, Google will show results that have review videos on YouTube, links to shopping sites, blogs, and more. In addition, users will be able to compare prices without actually leaving the search page. This new experience is powered by Google’s Shopping Graph, a comprehensive, real-time dataset of products, inventory and merchants with over 24 billion listings. “Not only does this help us connect shoppers to the right products for them, but it also helps millions of merchants and brands get discovered on Google every day,” Google said in a blog.
In short, Google is betting big on e-commerce search with its latest improvement and that is largely due to Amazon.
Amazon Isn’t About ‘Search’, But It’s Harming Google
The Wall Street Journal report shows that Amazon, being the e-commerce giant, has become the “starting point for an estimated 53% of US searches for consumer goods”. What it has done is that it has increased Amazon’s share of search ad sales. According to the WSJ report, advertisers are shifting their spending from Google to Amazon. Google’s share in the space was 61% in 2019 and has now come down to 57%. The decline may not seem like much, but Amazon is growing in moolah from search ad sales. According to the report, in 2021, Amazon generated about $14.82 billion in ad sales – up 82% from the previous year. Google still leads the market and has six times the revenue but has fallen by just under 50% during the same time period.
What is Google doing to compete with Amazon?
Over the past few years, Google has really stepped on the gas when it comes to shopping. According to the WSJ report, Google is adopting a two-pronged strategy – one that focuses on retailers and the other on consumers. As per the report, along with retailers, Google does not ask retainers to advertise their products to be listed in the Shopping finder. Google no longer charges any commission on purchases and in addition, it has partnered with Shopify to make search listings easier for nearly 2 million merchants.
On the consumer side, the new search is Google’s attempt to undercut Amazon’s growth. The new search results will look more like Amazon’s — more image heavy and users will be able to quickly and easily find brands, styles, and other relevant things.
A new and intriguing battle is brewing between the two biggest tech companies in the world, and it’s probably time to wait and see who comes out on top.
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