While AI gains ground, traditional search engines still have a place, say experts

The Star

12-06-2025

Has artificial intelligence (AI) changed the way we interact with the digital world, and more importantly, have old systems and principles become irrelevant with the advent of AI?
Those questions took centre stage during the Malaysia Digital Association (MDA) D-Conference 2025 on June 12, which brought speakers from across various industries to discuss the intersection between technology and creativity.
A panel discussion titled "AI vs Search: Reinventing Discovery Or Breaking The System" explored the impact of AI on how people find information online.
US-based web advertising company Taboola's regional director for India and South-East Asia, Aaron Rigby, highlights fragmentation across generational lines regarding the use of "search".
He observes that older users are sticking to traditional search engines and research behaviour, while those from younger generations are relying on platforms like TikTok when searching for information.
Rigby says that despite advances in AI chatbots, search engines are not going anywhere. — RAJA FAISAL HISHAN/The Star
With the rise of chatbots and AI integration in search results, Rigby sees them taking a complementary role to one another.
"Firstly, is AI going to replace search? No, I don't think so. It's pretty much reimagining search.
"Google still receives 370 times the number of queries that AI chatbots are receiving.
"Of all the people using ChatGPT, 99% of them, which is another way of saying 100% with a rounding error, are still using Google search, so it's not going anywhere," he says.
The shift, Rigby says, will be in how users interact with both chatbots and search engines.
He believes that both will have their respective roles to play in developing distinct workflows and splitting up the search process.
For example, when aiming for more thorough and complex questions that require context, users are opting for AI assistance to get the answers they are looking for, he says.
Meanwhile, when it comes to simpler, quickfire answers, they go straight to Google, he adds.
"I think as we move forward, it's not going to replace, it's going to converge and evolve in an interesting way," he says.
Vinda Malaysia's head of media, business intelligence and data Neeraj Mishra, on the other hand, touched on the trustworthiness of artificial intelligence when compared with traditional organic search results.
Neeraj says that just a short two years ago, he would not have trusted the accuracy of results obtained from AI.
Since then, however, he has seen rapid improvements and developments in the various AI platforms.
Neeraj says that just a short two years ago, he would not have trusted the accuracy of results obtained from AI. — RAJA FAISAL HISHAN/The Star
"I'll take a specific example: initially when ChatGPT launched, it was not connected to the Internet.
"I'm not sure whether the results it gives me are correct or not, so I have to go to Google to confirm it.
"But now, what happens is, within ChatGPT, it is connected to the Internet, and when you search, your search results also comes with the source.
"Then what happens is, I can verify that it then and there whether the results are okay or not," he says, adding that he no longer needs to manually cross-check information from chatbots.
He stresses that users now need to make sure to feed their chatbots well-worded and accurate prompts in order to receive high quality, trustworthy, and verified responses.
"If you are using it and your prompts are good enough, the result you will get is reliable, trustworthy, and can be verified too.
"But if your prompts are not accurate, the outcome will not be good," he says.
Neeraj further stresses that it now falls on the user to ensure the quality of their prompts, rather than the blame falling on chatbots like ChatGPT.
From an ethical perspective, Rigby says that the biggest challenge is in creative attribution.
"AI is coming back with good results, and that is not being attributed to the publishers, and not being attributed to the creative industry.
"So, if we continue down this way, we're essentially strip mining the very industry that AI is built for, right?
"And then we'll have an AI which is fueled by nothing. So, from an ethical standpoint, it's so important we have to get this creative attribution right," he says.
The human touch
Another presentation given by Peter Kua, co-founder of AI consulting firm Growth.Pro Data Science, titled "The AI takeover: Is UX as we know it over", discussed how humans are a necessary element in the design of user experience (UX).
He emphasises that humans are the ones responsible for the inclusion of empathy and creativity in UX design.
"The reality is that AI cannot replace human programmers. I mean, sure, AI is able to solve simple hackathon types of problems. It's also able to generate code snippets that you can cut and paste into your work.
"But the real world is a lot more complex than that," he says, adding that AI fails miserably at addressing complex business problems and at figuring out current and legacy systems.
The conference also included discussions on whether AI represents a boon or bane for creative works, the future of advertising in an AI era, and authenticity in a synthetic world, among others.
Following the conference was the D-Awards 2025 ceremony, celebrating innovations in the creative space the past year.