Meta is developing an AI search engine for Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, aiming to compete for Google's market share. Analyst Justin Post pointed out that Meta's AI search may attract users, thereby reducing Google's traffic. Although Meta does not intend to completely replace Google, integrating AI search functionality in social media may lead to market fragmentation. Meta's stock price rose by 2.62% to close at $593.28
Meta (META.US) is eyeing Google's (GOOG.US, GOOGL.US) market share.
According to the financial news app Zhitong Finance, Meta is developing an AI search engine for its Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp platforms, as reported by an insider involved in this strategic move. Meta has not yet responded to this news.
Currently, Meta's chatbots rely on Google and Microsoft's Bing search engines to answer questions about current events.
Analyst Justin Post from Bank of America Global Research stated that Meta's AI search engine could potentially erode Google's search market share.
In a research report, Post wrote, "Given the significant amount of time users spend on Meta apps... if users increasingly use Meta AI to obtain information, some web traffic may shift away from Google search."
However, Meta may not be attempting to challenge Google's position as a general search engine like Bing or AI startup Perplexity. But integrating AI search functionality in social media could further fragment the market. Currently, Google holds over 90% of the search engine market share.
Post estimated that if Meta users make three queries to the company's AI search engine per week, this would amount to approximately 30 billion queries per year, compared to Google's annual search volume of around 20 trillion queries.
Last Friday, Meta announced that its AI chatbots will use Reuters news content to provide real-time answers to user questions. The U.S. Department of Justice previously stated that due to a judge ruling that Google holds an illegal monopoly in general search services and general text advertising, the Department of Justice may attempt to break up Google.
As of Tuesday's close, Meta rose by 2.62% to $593.28