This article has originally appeared in HackerNoon on July 9th, 2025
I hear a lot of people saying that they use ChatGPT instead of Google search, and more.
I recently I saw a guy at Home Depot using ChatGPT instead of a calculator. Using ChatGPT for everything is a trend that is hiding some risks I don’t think most people realize. I’ll explain.
I also use ChatGPT instead of search, but only for specific use cases, so let’s review the difference between the two.
ChatGPT Acts as an Assistant
To arrive at the answers it provides, ChatGPT:
- Looks for content on topics related to your request
- Finds and arranges texts with contextually similar ideas
- Combines several texts into one response in a conversational format
It’s no surprise people like it, as using ChatGPT feels like talking with a smart human.
The strengths of ChatGPT is that it can quickly grasp a complex topic, can steer the response with follow-up questions, build on previous input, and give a straight answer in the format you prefer.
What ChatGPT doesn’t do well is it does not always have access to live information (so not great for breaking news), does not always cite its sources (as it combines information from several at once,) and sometimes hallucinates (make things up that sound right.) Furthermore, ChatGPT is not trained to do math operations, although lately it was upgraded to use Python code to solve math problems as a workaround.
Search Retrieves Existing Information
Search works by finding existing information its algorithm evaluates as trustworthy:
- Understands your request as a keyword or a phrase
- Evaluates existing web pages with your keyword text using backlinks and other signals
- Returns its ranking of actual web pages that contain words from your request
The strengths of Search is that it indexes the internet well and can access real-time data (breaking news, current prices), cite source access (specific web pages,) and access niche content (websites, products, contact info.)
The downsides of Search is that you need to sift through and read multiple pages, doesn’t summarize or explain, and results depend heavily on how you phrase and which keywords you use.
When to Use Which?
Both Search and ChatGPT have great use cases, but the strengths and limitations of each make them uniquely good for some tasks, and uniquely bad for others. Here’s a guide you can use (and expand) based on the qualities of both:
In general, it’s a good idea to keep in mind that with ChatGPT, you’re getting a mash-up of information out there, not absolutely correct, factual information. There are many cases when this isn’t critical, just don’t rely on it to look up the absolute truth.
