Jordi Ribas, Microsoft's Corporate Vice President of Search and AI, posted a comparison of Microsoft's Copilot to Google's AI Mode on LinkedIn. He said, "They’re both excellent AI search products but we’re taking a different approach for some query segments."
He then shared an example of how Microsoft Copilot differs from Google AI Mode. He said, "As you can see in the video below, both provide compelling generative responses for a query about the best time to visit Victoria. Yet for the follow-up queries about pictures of the popular Butchart gardens and the weather forecast, Copilot Search provides richer answer cards although without generative descriptions."
Here is that video:
Jordi Ribas then added, "Let us know what you think, and if you’d have a preference… Either way the convergence of traditional and generative search in the future years will be fascinating and we hope you come along for the ride."
Then Jordi Ribas answered a number of questions in the comments section of his post:
He was asked about personalization and using cookies and previous sessions, in which he replied, "at this point Copilot Search is primarily based on the query and session but the impact of personalization and contextualization will increase over time."
He was also asked if this comparison was done using the new Gemini 2.5 Pro or the older model. Jordi responded, "We use advanced GPT models also. Both search products will continue to evolve obviously, so every benchmark is just at a moment in time. But if you check the queries in the video today, the results are still comparable. My post was less about the models or generative part and more about our product POV vs. theirs for certain query segments like images and weather."
What do you all think?
Forum discussion at LinkedIn.
