Satya Nadella admits Microsoft missed an opportunity as ChatGPT and Copilot gain popularity — even OpenAI's Sam Altman "doesn't do Google searches anymore"

Artificial Intelligence AI Assistant Apps - ChatGPT, Anthropic Claude, Google Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, Perplexity, Poe.
The selection of AI Assistant app grows. (Image credit: Getty Images | iStock | Kenneth Cheung)

With the emergence of generative AI, AI-powered tools like Copilot, ChatGPT, and more are quickly gaining broad adoption.

As a result, there's been a dramatic shift, especially in how people interact with information on the Internet, thanks to the emergence of AI-powered tools like OpenAI's ChatGPT search.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently revealed that he's using ChatGPT more than ever as it seemingly evolves into a so-called 'Everything App.'

"I don't do Google searches anymore," added Altman.

A new study highlighted by our sister site, Tom's Guide, echoes the same sentiments. According to a survey featuring 510 participants in the US and an additional 518 in the UK conducted by our parent company, Future Publishing, approximately 27% of the US participants are heavily inclined to use AI-powered search tools like ChatGPT as conventional tools like Google seemingly fade away into the horizon.

AI specialist Amanda Caswell attributes the dramatic shift to well-curated, in-depth, and contextual answers delivered with a more human-like tone in a straightforward set of apps that save time, are easy to use, and offer personalization for added accuracy and relevance.

Interestingly, a separate study by Gartner seemingly corroborates Future's findings, citing that AI-powered tools like ChatGPT search will take over 30% of online search queries by 2026, potentially denting Google's longstanding search dominance.

It'll be interesting to see how companies at the forefront of the dramatic shift to AI tools for online search queries handle abound issues, including the rampant erroneous AI-generated summaries.

Satya Nadella could make up for Microsoft's Google transgressions with Copilot AI

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. (Image credit: Windows Central)

"We missed what turned out to be the biggest business model," indicated Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella while speaking to Dwarkesh Patel during a recent interview.

The executive admitted that Microsoft underestimated search which ended up being one of the company's biggest mistakes.

Nadella admitted that the company's initial thoughts about search were that it would remain decentralized, but this wasn't the case, giving Google the ultimate opportunity to grasp dominance in the landscape with a significant lead and precision.

"Who would have thought that search would be the biggest winner in organizing the web?" he added. "We obviously didn't see it, and Google saw it and executed it super well."

As the next generation of web users seemingly takes on new trends like scouring the web with AI tools, Microsoft could attempt to crack Google's search dominance with Copilot.

Like OpenAI's ChatGPT, Microsoft's AI offerings ship with similar capabilities, allowing users to pull fast and intricate (if sometimes imperfect) responses to queries.

So that's one lesson learned for me: you have to really not only get the tech trend right, you also have to get where the value is going to be created with that trend. These business model shifts are probably tougher than tech trend changes.

Microsoft CEO, Satya Nadella

However, the company may have to address multiple concerns raised by users following its recent massive Copilot overhaul. Microsoft 'Insiders' cited that the upgrade shipped with a degraded user experience and was "a step backward."

If Microsoft can address some of its most pressing issues quickly and thoroughly enough, it could have a standing chance to take on OpenAI's ChatGPT as users ditch Google for AI-powered tools.

CATEGORIES
Kevin Okemwa
Contributor

Kevin Okemwa is a seasoned tech journalist based in Nairobi, Kenya with lots of experience covering the latest trends and developments in the industry at Windows Central. With a passion for innovation and a keen eye for detail, he has written for leading publications such as OnMSFT, MakeUseOf, and Windows Report, providing insightful analysis and breaking news on everything revolving around the Microsoft ecosystem. You'll also catch him occasionally contributing at iMore about Apple and AI. While AFK and not busy following the ever-emerging trends in tech, you can find him exploring the world or listening to music.

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.

Read more
In this photo illustration OpenAI icon is displayed on a mobile phone screen in Ankara, Turkiye on August 13, 2024.
"I don't do Google searches anymore": Sam Altman touts ChatGPT Search as an "oracular system" as it opens to the public
June 2024; Richard Socher, Founder and CEO, You.com on FULL STK Stage during day two of Collision 2024 at the Enercare Centre in Toronto, Canada.
You.com CEO claims Google's reign as an "untouchable monopoly" in search will end soon — even OpenAI CEO Sam Altman ditched "Google searches" for an AI alternative
Sundar Pichai, chief executive officer of Google Inc., speaks during a company event
Google CEO wants to re-embrace "scrappy" tactics as ChatGPT becomes synonymous with AI, just as Google did with Search
Sam Altman, chief executive officer of OpenAI, during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit in San Francisco, California, US, on Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023.
Sam Altman claims knowing what questions to ask trumps raw intelligence as AI advances — Users struggle to realize Copilot and ChatGPT's full potential, owing to poor prompt engineering skills
DeepSeek logo on a smartphone in front of a PC screen with the same logo.
Is AI all hype? DeepSeek tumbles to #51 on Apple's App Store, weeks after dethroning ChatGPT as the most downloaded free AI app in the US — OpenAI CEO Sam Altman already promised to "obviously deliver better models"
Microsoft Copilot
Microsoft says ChatGPT is not better than Copilot; we just aren't using it as intended — So why does it refuse to provide basic election details? "I'm probably not the best resource for something so important."
Latest in Browsing
Microsoft Edge Sidebar
My favorite Microsoft Edge feature just got an AI upgrade — is this the best way to use Copilot on Windows 11?
Google Chrome on PC
DOJ demands divestiture of Chrome browser and sets sights on making Google sell Android — calls Google "incompatible with free markets and freedom"
Andrej Karpathy, Director of AI Tesla, a keynote speaker at the Train AI conference in 2018
Ex-OpenAI founder claims 99.9% of web content will be AI-optimized — Was Bill Gates right about AI replacing humans?
June 2024; Richard Socher, Founder and CEO, You.com on FULL STK Stage during day two of Collision 2024 at the Enercare Centre in Toronto, Canada.
You.com CEO claims Google's reign as an "untouchable monopoly" in search will end soon — even OpenAI CEO Sam Altman ditched "Google searches" for an AI alternative
Deprecation of uBlock Origin
Google might have deleted uBlock Origin from the Web Store, leaving 30 million Chrome users susceptible to intrusive ads — but turning it off and on again will give you an extra buffer...for now
A Mozilla Firefox logo seen displayed on a smartphone.
Firefox users slam Mozilla over controversial data privacy update — while ironically using "the biggest data-mining operating system in the world (aka Microsoft Windows)"
Latest in News
The Backbone One Xbox Edition mobile controller which is translucent green
Backbone launches Xbox version of its popular mobile controller — it's green!
Office 365 on Razer laptop
Microsoft Office apps are about to get a speed boost
NVIDIA CES 2025
You should be worried about NVIDIA’s launch strategy for its most popular GPUs. Here's why.
Two hands holding a gaming handheld
This new gaming handheld could be perfect for Xbox Cloud and more reasonably priced than my current go-to
Cloud servers
Microsoft has killed "several" data center projects in the U.S. and Europe, according to reports — Microsoft responds (Updated)
Photo of Microsoft's new sign-in page for Xbox.com using the Microsoft Edge browser.
Over one billion users will get a new Microsoft user experience, and it has a dark mode