- The fundamental difference between how Google and ChatGPT work
- A simple decision framework: which type of question goes where
- The situations where each one clearly wins — and where they're roughly equal
- Why Perplexity is worth knowing about as a hybrid option
They're not the same kind of tool
Most people think of ChatGPT as a smarter, newer version of Google. That framing leads to using both of them wrong.
Google is a lookup tool. It searches an enormous index of the real, live internet and returns links to pages that might contain what you're looking for. It's built for finding — specific pages, current information, local results, shopping comparisons, and anything that benefits from being sourced.
ChatGPT is a reasoning and writing tool. It was trained on a massive amount of text and learned to generate responses — it doesn't search the internet in real time (unless specifically given that ability). It's built for thinking — drafting, explaining, analyzing, summarizing, and brainstorming.
Google finds things that exist. ChatGPT creates things that don't exist yet — or explains things that already do.
The confusion makes sense because both accept natural language questions and both return text. But once you understand what's happening under the hood, the right tool for each situation becomes obvious.
The quick decision framework
- Drafting or improving something you need to write
- Explaining a complex concept in simple terms
- Brainstorming ideas or options
- Summarizing a long document you paste in
- Getting a direct answer to a general question
- Working through a decision or plan step by step
- Translating confusing jargon (legal, medical, financial)
- Finding a specific website, business, or source
- Anything that happened recently (news, prices, events)
- Local results: restaurants, hours, directions, reviews
- Shopping — comparing products, finding deals
- Verifying something you want to double-check
- Looking for a specific person, company, or place
- Anything where the source matters as much as the answer
Where each one clearly wins
ChatGPT wins: Writing and editing
There's no comparison here. Google can help you find writing guides or templates. ChatGPT actually writes with you — drafting emails, improving sentences, matching tone, explaining why a paragraph isn't landing. If you have something to write, ChatGPT is the right tool by a wide margin.
ChatGPT wins: Explaining complicated things
When you want a concept explained rather than a link to a page about the concept, ChatGPT is better. You can have a back-and-forth conversation, ask follow-ups, request a simpler version, or ask for a specific analogy. Google gives you ten links to sort through. ChatGPT gives you an explanation you can actually engage with.
Google wins: Anything current
ChatGPT's knowledge has a training cutoff — it doesn't know what happened last week, this month, or even recent months ago (depending on the version). For news, current prices, recent events, or anything time-sensitive, Google is the right tool. Some versions of ChatGPT now include web browsing, which helps — but even then, Google is faster and more reliable for current information.
Google wins: Local and specific
What time does the pharmacy close? Which dry cleaner near me has good reviews? Is there parking at that venue? Google knows. ChatGPT doesn't — it has no idea where you are or what's open near you.
Roughly equal: General knowledge questions
For stable, factual questions — "what causes inflation," "how does the immune system work," "what's the difference between a will and a trust" — both tools work reasonably well. ChatGPT often gives a cleaner, more conversational explanation. Google often surfaces better sources for deeper reading. Use whichever you reached for first.
The side-by-side comparison
| Task | ChatGPT | |
|---|---|---|
| Write an email draft | ✓ Best choice | Not built for this |
| Today's news headlines | May be outdated | ✓ Best choice |
| Explain a confusing term | ✓ Best choice | Returns links |
| Find a local restaurant | No local data | ✓ Best choice |
| Brainstorm 10 ideas | ✓ Best choice | Not built for this |
| Check a product price | May be wrong | ✓ Best choice |
| Summarize a document | ✓ Best choice | Can't process docs |
| Find a specific website | Less reliable | ✓ Best choice |
| Translate medical jargon | ✓ Best choice | Returns articles |
| Verify a specific fact | Can hallucinate | ✓ Best choice |
A third option worth knowing: Perplexity
There's a tool called Perplexity that's worth knowing about because it sits somewhere between these two. It's an AI tool that searches the web in real time and then summarizes what it finds, with citations. You get a direct answer instead of ten links — but unlike ChatGPT, it's pulling from current, live sources.
It's particularly good for research questions where you want a synthesized answer but also want to see where the information is coming from. Think of it as Google that gives you an answer instead of links, without ChatGPT's knowledge cutoff problem.
We cover Perplexity in more detail on our tools page.