Google and Bing are getting a lot of attention, which is to be expected given that both hold around 95% of global research market share.
However, the number of users searching for “Google alternatives” increased by 7% year-on-year (mainly driven by a major spike in late May), with the US seeing a 4% increase, according to data from Glimpse.
While not substantial, the late May spike correlates with the period immediately after Google I/O and AI preview results less than desirable.
It is unclear to what extent the late May spike is due to Natural referencing articles on alternatives to Google.
While general market trends have been primarily responsible for the increase, the recent Justice Department Prosecution This could change our understanding of the market’s reaction to Google and its feature issues.
It also reminds us that Google and Microsoft Bing are not the only search engines; they are not the only search engines developing core search products or new products and features using AI and LLMs as their backbone.
For several years, I have been covering Yandex, Baidu and other search engines around the world as they develop their search products with and without AI.
Baidu (China)
Baidu has faced new competition in recent years. While it remains the dominant search engine in China, it has lost market share to non-traditional “search engine” applications.
Baidu is turning to AI to revamp its content ecosystem, bringing new capabilities to existing content. platforms such as Baidu App, Baidu Content Ecosystem, Baidu Tieba and Baidu Marketing.
At the forefront of Baidu’s search revolution is Wenxin Yiyan (aka ERNIE).
ERNIE (Enhanced Representation through kNowledge Integration) is an AI language model developed by Baidu that leverages knowledge graphs to improve natural language understanding and generation.
While ERNIE is part of Baidu’s broader AI strategy, including applications in search, autonomous driving and cloud computing, in May 2024, Baidu revealed that about 11% of traditional basic search results were generated using AI technology.
Another key product in Baidu’s portfolio is Wenku.
Wenku is being transformed into a smarter, more intuitive document creation tool, much like Copilot, making it easier for users to create and manage content.
Baidu, however, is feeling the pressure as other platforms improve and strive to become more user-centric, develop their own search tools and use AI.
Competition has intensified further in recent times. On July 10, Alibaba’s search engine Quark launched its AI-powered “Super Search Box.”
Tencent’s Yuanbao launched a new deep search feature on July 1, and DingTalk’s AI search began its exclusive testing phase on June 26.
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Yandex (Russia)
Yandex claims to have been using AI in search technologies for over 2020 years. At the YAC (Yet Another Conference) 2020, Tigran Khudaverdyan unveiled YATI (Yet Another Transformer with Improvements).
YATI is a machine learning algorithm developed to improve the capabilities of search engines. It focuses on better understanding the semantic meaning of search queries and documents, similar to human understanding.
YATI processes a larger portion of a page’s text content than previous Yandex algorithms, which only considered part of a page’s text.
In May, Yandex introduced Neuro, an artificial intelligence tool designed for the Russian market and language. It uses advanced language models to handle Cyrillic script better than competitors like Gemini and Copilot.
Neuro is now integrated into major Yandex products, including Alice and YaBrowser. Its main functions and usage are in image and speech recognition and natural language processing (NLP) tasks such as search and content creation.
Yandex updated YandexGPT to version 3 in April. At the time of launch, YandexGPT 3 was free (100 API requests per hour) and plans were underway to integrate the technology into broader products.
Naver (South Korea)
A key part of Naver’s strategy is the introduction of “Cue:,” a new AI-powered search service designed to understand complex queries and deliver structured, conversational results.
After experiencing Cue:, I would compare it more to Copilot than Gemini.
South Korean media have compared Cue’s expanded use to being more like a “personal assistant” for searching than a traditional information search engine.
Hint: It also seems to be positioned as an “add-on” to Naver’s traditional search ecosystem and not detract from traditional results, Cafes or Blogs.
Cue:’s capabilities and success are due to the LLM that underpins it, HyperCLOVA X.
HyperCLOVA X builds on the original HyperCLOVA, first released in 2021. The X iteration is more powerful, enabling complex and contextual interactions beyond simple queries and has been integrated with other commercial tools, such as CLOVA studio.
Daum and NATE
Staying in South Korea, I think it’s important to mention two other region-specific search engines:
- Daumoperated by Kakao, uses AI to improve the relevance and personalization of search results. It tailors results based on user behavior, especially in news and local searches.
- NATESK Communications, uses AI to improve search accuracy, especially in news and life searches, with a focus on reliability. Its approach to AI is more cautious, avoiding experimental or generative AI features.
Neither Daum’s nor NATE’s AI integrations are as significant as Naver’s AI efforts, although according to a 2024 surveyDaum has a higher market share in South Korea than ChatGPT.
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Seznam (Czech Republic)
Seznam.cz is a Czech search engine and web portal, often referred to as the “Google of the Czech Republic”.
In addition to its search engine, Seznam offers various other services such as Sreality (real estate), Sauto (car classifieds) and Novinky (news).
Seznam’s LLM is already used in its search engine, Vyhledávání, and plans to expand its deployment to other Seznam services this year and next.
In June 2023, Seznam presented Hacsiko, the first female presenter with a synthetic voice created by AI, on Expres FM radio. This is a revolutionary event in the audio market in the Czech Republic and Europe.
Seznam also collaborated with Microsoft to introduce the practical uses of AI to Czech businesses, showcasing them through the Seznam Native Project.
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