Three years after its launch, ChatGPT has profoundly altered how people seek information and answers. Once, users turned to search engines, how-to videos or voice assistants to look up a simple fact or solve a problem. Now, many begin with ChatGPT — typing a question and getting a direct, conversational response.
Usage statistics highlight the shift. Within months of its November 2022 debut, ChatGPT reached around 100 million weekly users. By late 2025, that number reportedly swelled to 800 million, making it one of the fastest-adopted consumer technologies globally. A 2025 poll from a reputed global survey body found that 34 per cent of adults in the US have used ChatGPT — nearly double the share from 2023. Among younger adults (under 30), over half have tried it, and for many AI use is now the go-to method to look up information.
This doesn’t mean traditional search tools have disappeared — rather, the role they play has changed. For quick clarifications, explanations, draft-writing, concept overviews or simpler queries, ChatGPT often delivers faster and more neatly than a long list of links or a tangled search result page. For deeper dives, comparisons, cross-checking or when users need multiple perspectives, conventional search engines or video-based platforms still have value.
Notably, this behavioural shift extends beyond casual browsing or curiosity — professionals, students, researchers increasingly rely on ChatGPT for quick summaries, clarifications, or even basic coding, writing or conceptual assistance. The effect is that many “routine questions” no longer result in a page-scroll or link-hunt, but in a conversational answer almost instantly.
What this change signals is a realignment of the information-search ecosystem. ChatGPT hasn’t eliminated search engines, video platforms or forums — but it has reshaped the first reflex of many users. The “search box → result list” model is being challenged by “chat box → answer.”
Leave A Comment