#22. Weekly Round Up. ChatGPT doesn't replace Google, right?

Hi! This is Sergei.

Everyone says ChatGPT is changing how people find information. But what’s more interesting is how behavior itself is changing.

Based on recent Semrush data, a few things stand out:

1. ChatGPT is not replacing Google

• 20%+ of outbound clicks from ChatGPT go to Google

• Users start with AI → then search, verify, go deeper

This is not replacement, it’s a new workflow.

2. People are learning how to “use” AI search

• Short prompts → trigger live search

• Long prompts → handled by the model

Users are adapting. They understand when they need fresh data — and when they don’t.

3. Search language is evolving

• Most prompts still aren’t “search queries”

• But that share is growing fast

Example:

• “book a flight to Perugia” → search behavior

• “how to get from Lisbon to Perugia” → AI behavior

AI + search = complementary.

4. Power users are emerging

• Queries per session are up ~50%

• Fewer casual users, more advanced ones

People are running workflows: research → refine → verify

What this means

AI search isn’t killing traditional search, it’s layering on top of it.

And for content:

• Discovery increasingly starts in AI

• Being citeable, clear, structured matters more than ever

• SEO alone is no longer enough

And a short personal note.

I'm building an analytics dashboard that pulls together cross-platform metrics for newsrooms and I need editorial input to get the next version right. The MVP is running and I use it in my daily job as well. But I think it can be simpler and more editor-focused. After interviewing several editors and top-management of newsrooms, I distilled their needs into 10 specific questions. Now I need to know which ones actually matter most in daily workflow.

Please, spend 2-3 minutes distributing 30 points across these 10 questions. Give more weight to what you need most, less to what's nice-to-have. And you can get early access to test the platform once this version ships (if you wish). Thank you in advance!