Understanding the Crucial AI Innovations in Global Search Engines for SEOs
Google and Bing have long been the dominant players in the global search engine market, with a combined market share of approximately 95%. However, recent data from Glimpse suggests that there is growing interest in alternative search engines. The number of users searching for “Google alternatives” has increased by 7% year-on-year, with the U.S. seeing a 4% increase. This spike in interest coincided with the period immediately after Google I/O and the less-than-desirable AI Overview results.
It is unclear whether this increase in interest was due to SEO articles about Google alternatives or broader market trends. However, the recent Department of Justice lawsuit against Google may change how we understand the market’s reaction to Google and its feature issues. This also serves as a reminder that Google and Bing are not the only search engines out there. Other search engines, such as Baidu, Yandex, Naver, Daum, NATE, and Seznam, are also developing core search products and new features using AI and LLMs (language models) as a backbone.
Baidu, the dominant search engine in China, is looking to AI to revamp its content ecosystem. One of its AI language models, ERNIE (Enhanced Representation through kNowledge Integration), leverages knowledge graphs to enhance natural language understanding and generation. Baidu disclosed that around 11% of its traditional core search results were generated using AI technology. Baidu’s Wenku is also being transformed into a smarter document creation tool, similar to Copilot, making it easier for users to create and manage content.
Competition in the Chinese search engine market has intensified, with Alibaba’s search engine, Quark, launching its AI-driven “Super Search Box.” Tencent’s Yuanbao rolled out a new deep search feature, and DingTalk’s AI search started its exclusive testing phase. These developments highlight the increasing focus on AI in the Chinese search engine landscape.
Yandex, the leading search engine in Russia, has been using AI in its search technologies for over 20 years. Its AI tool, YATI (Yet Another Transformer with Improvements), focuses on better understanding the semantic meaning of search queries and documents. Yandex also introduced Neuro, an AI tool designed for the Russian market and language, which is integrated into important Yandex products such as Alice and YaBrowser. YandexGPT 3, an upgraded version of Yandex’s AI model, has also been launched.
Naver, the dominant search engine in South Korea, has introduced Cue:, an AI-powered search service designed to understand complex queries and provide structured conversational results. Cue: is positioned as an add-on to the traditional Naver search ecosystem and is likened to a search “personal assistant.” The success of Cue: is attributed to the LLM behind it, HyperCLOVA X, which enables complex, context-aware interactions. Other South Korean search engines, such as Daum and NATE, also utilize AI to improve search relevance and accuracy, particularly in news and local searches.
Seznam.cz, the leading search engine in the Czech Republic, is often referred to as the “Google of the Czech Republic.” Seznam has already deployed its LLM in its search engine, Vyhledávání, and plans to expand its use across other Seznam services. In addition to its search engine, Seznam provides various other services such as real estate and automobile classifieds. Seznam has also collaborated with Microsoft to showcase the practical uses of AI to Czech companies.
These innovations in global search engines highlight the increasing importance of AI in improving search relevance, personalization, and user experience. As users become more demanding and search engines aim to stay competitive, AI will continue to play a crucial role in shaping the future of search. Whether it’s Baidu’s use of AI to revamp its content ecosystem, Yandex’s focus on semantic understanding, Naver’s conversational search service, or Seznam’s deployment of LLM across its services, search engines are leveraging AI to provide more intelligent and intuitive search experiences.
