Google Trends data reveals that search engine users have shown more interest in artificial intelligence (AI) than Bitcoin or cryptocurrencies this year. The trend, which saw Bitcoin and crypto searches leading until recently, shifted in favor of AI searches starting August 2022. This change coincides with the release of OpenAI’s ChatGPT in November 2022, which sparked significant attention towards AI.
AI-related searches have continued to outpace those for cryptocurrencies, with AI currently holding a score of 91 on Google Trends, while Bitcoin lingers at 22. Google scores search terms based on their proportion to total searches on a scale from 0 to 100. Bitcoin’s lower interest levels could be attributed to the bear market cycle that affected it through the second half of 2021 and much of 2022, though it has begun to regain interest and value this year.
Bitcoin started the year at $16,900, significantly below its all-time high of $68,729 on November 11, 2021, but has since gained approximately 150% in value, trading at $42,818 at the time of writing, according to CoinMarketCap data. Bitcoin searches are most popular in El Salvador, Nigeria, the Netherlands, Brazil, and Switzerland.
Meanwhile, AI has had a notable year, from fears of actors losing jobs to AI, to the proliferation of AI services, and excitement around new chatbots like ChatGPT, Google Bard, Meta AI, and GrokAI. This has been further highlighted by tech billionaire Elon Musk’s involvement in the sector. Google Trends data shows that users in Vietnam, China, the Philippines, and Myanmar are particularly interested in AI.
Autism Capital was among the first to highlight this shift in interest with a post to their 249,900 followers on December 26. One comment on the post suggested that Bitcoin and crypto might be considered relatively older areas of interest compared to AI, contributing to the change in search trends.