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Generative AI for Learning and Research

Google Search vs ChatGPT

What is your first instinct when trying to look for information? Conducting a Google search would normally be used because of its convenience and speediness. In such cases, why do we need ChatGPT? You may consider the following differences between the two applications:

  1. Intention
    The design of Google Search is more focused on the finding and retrieval of existing information from the Internet, with a one-off response. ChatGPT, on the other hand, is developed to consolidate and analyze a large number of data sets and generate output that is new and human-like. 
     
  2. Source of data
    Google Search indexes billions of internet resources, such as webpages and videos, and provides up-to-date information from these sources. Instead of crawling all online resources, ChatGPT relies on its training data and model to generate outputs. While the latest model of ChatGPT is mentioned to offer real-time information, there might be discrepancies as compared to Google Search. 
    Still, ChatGPT can adjust the search scope to obtain output from academic resources only or a designated knowledge engine. 
     
  3. Output
    In general, Google Search provides a list of URLs with snippets and directs you to click for more details. The response is mostly in one direction, without the possibility of any interaction. In such cases, ChatGPT serves as a personal assistant with a conversational interface. It can provide answers to your questions (i.e. prompts), and follow-up questions can be asked on the same topic for more details. 

Instead of considering the differences and applications in different contexts, why not both? For instance, google the unknown terms from ChatGPT’s output or google for verification of the sources by checking the background of the sources regarding one’s authoritativeness. Your learning and research journey will undoubtedly benefit from recognizing their limitations and utilizing their strengths. Still, always be cautious when checking and verifying the information via the internet - use authoritative sources! Check out the AI Literacy tab for more.

 

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