Intent comes first. Ads follow.
Most advertising platforms eventually monetise, but they rarely begin with this mix of scale and high-intent engagement. Before ads have properly arrived, ChatGPT already has a large global user base, habitual daily usage, and long, problem-solving conversations. That combination is unusual.
Google supports both discovery and decision-making, but it’s often used as people hone in on what they want, for example, through searches like “SEO agency Sheffield” or “Google Ads management cost.” ChatGPT is increasingly used earlier, helping people explore options and make sense of their choices while they’re still asking broader questions like “Should I invest in SEO or PPC?” or “What’s the best way to improve website leads?”
Different platforms, different roles
This is the distinction most discussions miss.
Google is typically task-led. People go there when they’re trying to do something: buy, book, fix, compare, or find. For example: “plumber in Sheffield”, “best boiler repair near me”, or “cost of a new boiler.”
Meta is primarily feed-led. People open Instagram, Facebook or TikTok to browse, be entertained, and see what’s happening. Discovery still happens, but it’s usually driven by exposure, recommendation and social proof, not a question they arrived with. For example: seeing a boiler installation video in their feed, reading the comments, and saving the post to come back to later.
ChatGPT is conversation-led. People use it when they’re trying to figure something out: exploring options, weighing trade-offs, learning, and forming an opinion.
For example: “Do I need to replace or repair my boiler?”, “What type of boiler is best for a three-bed house?”, or “What should I ask a heating engineer before getting quotes?”
That “figuring out” stage is where consideration begins, and where decisions start taking shape.
This isn’t search. This isn’t scrolling. This is thinking time
Google is exceptional at capturing demand once it already exists. Meta is highly effective at creating discovery and influencing choices in-feed. ChatGPT sits somewhere else entirely. It has the potential to influence decisions earlier, while people are still working through a problem and before demand is fully formed.
That’s why this isn’t about catching someone mid-scroll or bidding on keywords. It’s about advertising inside thinking time, the moment when people are actively trying to understand a problem, evaluate options, and decide what to do next - and ads that appear inside that moment can be powerful.
ChatGPT won’t replace Google, but it could reshape the mid-funnel
Google will almost certainly continue to dominate bottom-funnel conversion. When someone knows exactly what they want, search still wins.
Where ChatGPT may have an advantage is elsewhere in the journey. It has the potential to shape brand preference, narrow choices, address objections, and influence consideration before intent is explicit.
That’s mid-funnel influence, an area that scrolling platforms can support, but often struggle to do deeply. If Google captures demand, ChatGPT has the potential to help create it.
The real shift
The real threat to Google and Meta isn’t that ChatGPT ads will outperform them tomorrow.
It’s that ChatGPT is entering the most influential moment of the decision journey, the moment where people are still deciding what they believe, what they trust and what they want.
Google meets people when they already know. Meta meets people when they’re distracted. ChatGPT meets people when they’re thinking, and that changes everything. It also changes what visibility actually means.
Getting found on AI
If your audience is starting their decision-making inside AI tools, being “search visible” is no longer the full picture.
The next advantage is being AI-visible, making sure your brand is findable, quotable, and recommendable when people ask the questions that shape the buying journey.
AI is already shaping buying decisions in your category. The only question is: are you in the answer? We help brands understand how they currently show up in AI responses, and what needs to change to improve it.
If you want to influence the moment people are thinking, not just when they’re searching, let’s talk.
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