In a surprising twist, Google users worldwide have shown a notable shift in their online interests, favoring searches related to artificial intelligence (AI) over the once-dominant topics of “Bitcoin” and “crypto.” According to data from Google Trends, this seismic shift began around August 2022 and has only continued to grow since then.
The launch of OpenAI’s ChatGPT in November of that year seems to have played a pivotal role in this trend, as searches for “AI” surged in the same month, significantly widening the gap between AI and cryptocurrency-related search terms.
AI on the rise: A Google trends analysis
Google’s data reveals that worldwide search interest in “AI” currently boasts a Google Trends score of 91, while “Bitcoin” lags behind with a score of 22. Google assigns these scores based on a topic’s proportion to total searches across all topics, indicating the relative popularity of these search terms.
The shift in user interest might not surprise, given Bitcoin’s tumultuous journey in recent years. Bitcoin, which experienced a historic bull run in 2021, reaching an all-time high of $68,729 on November 11, 2021, had faced the challenges of a bear market cycle throughout the latter half of 2021 and most of 2022.Â
However, it began to regain lost ground in 2023, with its price surging from $16,900 at the start of the year to approximately $43,400 at the time of writing, according to CoinMarketCap data.
Global interest in crypto and AI
Google Trends data also highlights that Bitcoin garnered the most user interest in countries such as El Salvador, Nigeria, the Netherlands, Brazil, and Switzerland.
On the other hand, artificial intelligence saw a remarkable year of developments, including concerns about AI potentially displacing jobs, the emergence of AI-generated content, and excitement surrounding new chatbots like ChatGPT, Google Bard, Meta AI, and GrokAI, the latter of which was launched by tech mogul Elon Musk.
Particular regions that displayed a heightened interest in AI include Vietnam, China, the Philippines, and Myanmar. The growing fascination with AI coincided with various technological advancements and innovations in the field.
Exploring the phenomenon
One possible explanation for the shift in search trends is that Bitcoin and crypto have been subjects of interest for a more extended period compared to AI.
As a result, users may have already conducted extensive searches on crypto-related terms in previous years. In contrast, the continuous development and application of AI have driven more recent curiosity and exploration in this field.
AI dominates job market searches
In addition to dominating search trends, AI has also made a significant impact on the job market. In July, an analysis by crypto data aggregator CoinGecko revealed that the launch of ChatGPT in November 2022 led to a surge in searches for “AI jobs.” These searches outpaced those for “crypto jobs” by a staggering four-fold.
This highlights the increasing interest in career opportunities related to AI and the potential career prospects offered by advancements in artificial intelligence.
