Search is dead, brands need to adapt: Microsoft CTO

Microsoft ANZ National chief technology officer Sarah Carney said that “search is dead” during a keynote at Unmade’s AI conference HumAIn in Sydney yesterday.

Her remarks add urgency to warnings shared by the AANA days earlier, including predictions that large language models (LLMs) could outperform traditional search within four years. Research from AI publishing startup Tollbit found AI search sends 91% fewer referrals to websites, and chatbots send 96% less than traditional search.

Carney said that people no longer search with three-word terms, but instead ask for more specific outcomes. She gave the example of a user now asking for “a pair of training shoes for a trail run in Sydney this weekend for an adventure race.” She said this change requires a complete rethink of how brands approach visibility and strategy in digital environments, observing that the move from search-based interaction to AI-assisted requests fundamentally changes how brands must operate: “People don’t search for things. We ask for things. We have fundamentally changed how we actually go and look for things now.”

Sarah Carney at the Humain conference