ChatGPT May Be Tapping Into Google Search: New Evidence Emerges
A recent experiment from Backlinko has added intriguing insights to the ongoing speculation that ChatGPT Plus might be using Google Search to access web content directly—at least some of the time. This supports earlier assertions from SEO experts like Abhishek Iyer, Aleyda Solis, and Alexis Rylko that visibility in Google’s index can significantly influence the answers provided by ChatGPT Plus.
Why This Matters
Here’s the kicker: if these tests hold true, it suggests that SEO isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. If your website shows up on Google but not on Bing, it’s possible that your pages could make it into ChatGPT’s responses. In contrast, if your content is hidden from Google, it risks being overlooked by AI altogether.
The Experiment Details
Backlinko devised an experiment around a fictitious SEO term: NexorbalOptimization. Here’s how it worked:
- Controlled Crawl: They published a page dedicated to this invented term. However, only Googlebot was allowed to crawl it. The page didn’t have any external links nor was it included in the sitemap, keeping it completely hidden unless Google discovered it.
- AI Queries: Once indexed, the team posed the question—*What is NexorbalOptimization?*—to various AI models, including ChatGPT Plus and others.
Results
Only ChatGPT Plus (with browsing capabilities) and Perplexity produced accurate information, quoting directly from Backlinko’s page. In contrast, other models, including Claude and the free version of ChatGPT, couldn’t find or summarize the term.
Implications of the Findings
The results from Backlinko’s test bolster a growing conviction in the SEO community that ChatGPT Plus may be sourcing some of its information from Google. OpenAI lists Bing as its standard search partner. However, the behaviors observed in various controlled tests suggest a different narrative.
Lack of Official Comments
There’s been no official word from either OpenAI or Google about any potential collaboration. An article highlighting the demise of SEO referenced Iyer’s experiment and noted that the publisher sought comments from both entities. OpenAI mentioned its ongoing relationship with Microsoft and hinted at using different search providers but didn’t explicitly deny the possibility of ChatGPT using Google for data extraction. Google also opted not to comment on Iyer’s findings.
Supporting Evidence from Other Tests
Abhishek Iyer’s Experiment
- The former Google engineer ran a similar experiment, indexing a hidden page only in Google, and found that ChatGPT Plus could access it. The free version didn’t, and no other search engines could reach the page. Iyer also found that ChatGPT’s search references lined up closely with Google’s domain data, not Bing’s.
Aleyda Solis’s Analysis
- This notable consultant’s test found that ChatGPT’s responses mimicked Google Search snippets, right down to the wording, once a page had been indexed. In contrast, Gemini was able to access the page directly, even before Google indexed it. When Bing eventually indexed the content, ChatGPT persisted in quoting snippets from Google SERPs.
Alexis Rylko’s Comparison
- Rylko analyzed the JSON search logs from ChatGPT against live search results. In numerous queries, he discovered that up to 90% of the URLs ChatGPT cited aligned with Google’s top results, significantly surpassing any overlap with Bing. He also observed that snippet formatting, timestamps, and metadata mirrored Google’s layout rather than Bing’s.
With these findings, it seems the SEO world has more to consider when strategizing for AI-generated content and its reliance on search visibility.
