The future of search advertising could look very different in just a few years, according to Lexlab Director Alfie Lagos. In a hands-on comparison of traditional and GPT-powered search engines, Lagos explores whether AI-driven tools like Perplexity.ai and Devv.ai could soon challenge Google’s dominance.
While Google has remained the standard in search for decades, its consumer experience has changed little outside of featured snippets and ad placements. GPT-based tools, however, are offering a more consultative model, responding with contextualised, conversational answers rather than static links. Lagos likens the moment to the early 2000s, when Google overtook Yahoo and AltaVista with better results and user relevance.
In a recent test, GPT-based engines such as Perplexity.ai outperformed several competitors in delivering useful, nuanced answers, even beating Google in follow-up queries. Lagos argues that if Google doesn’t rapidly evolve, it risks losing ground as AI-native search becomes the norm.
From an advertising perspective, Lagos raises critical questions. If users move away from traditional search pages, how will ad revenue models adjust? The clutter of paid results may fade, replaced by contextual product recommendations or in-agent suggestions. This shift could disrupt the current PPC-driven ecosystem entirely.
He also warns of challenges: hallucination, answer ambiguity, and over-reliance on AI. Still, the takeaway is clear—the future of search advertising lies not just in better algorithms, but in a transformed user journey. Whether it’s a personal GPT assistant or a search engine powered by AI, advertisers must prepare for a more consultative, less interruptive search experience.
Lexlab sees this not as a risk, but as a shift. Those who adapt early may find themselves at the forefront of a more intuitive, user-first era in digital search.
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