Search Will Soon Be One of the Highest-Value Forms of Entertainment

Search is on the verge of becoming something entirely new. Not just a utility, but a continuous, flowing experience that rivals traditional entertainment in both value and engagement.

We are going to “Wander”…

The Evolution of Conversational Search

Imagine walking past a museum and casually asking your AI about it. Images and facts materialize and shift as you speak. There's no rigid structure, no dopamine-driven algorithm feeding you content. Instead, you're having a guided conversation that unfolds naturally, just like chatting with a knowledgeable friend who helps you collect interesting discoveries along the way.

The traditional search experience is transforming through conversational AI that uses natural language processing and voice recognition technologies to create more engaging, easy interactions between humans and machines. This evolution is happening across numerous sectors, with entertainment being one of the most promising applications.

The global conversational AI market is expanding rapidly, with projections suggesting it will reach $32 billion by 2030, growing at 19% annually since 2021. This growth is driven by increasing consumer demand for more natural, intuitive ways to discover and interact with content.

AI-powered search represents a fundamental shift in how we access information. It's not about getting the "right answer" anymore—it's about exploration and discovery through natural conversation.

Moving from Structured Queries to Wandering Conversations

Think about the difference between asking "What time does the museum close?" and saying "Tell me about this museum." The first is a discrete transaction. The second opens a door to discovery.

When you tell someone, "I wandered around this weekend," you're not describing a scheduled itinerary. You're talking about exploration—a few blocks here, a stop for coffee there, maybe a detour through a museum or stumbling upon a new recipe.

That's exactly how AI-driven search should function.

Instead of structured queries that yield specific results, you get a meandering, curiosity-driven experience. Recent developments in conversational AI search are already moving in this direction. Google has debuted an experimental "AI Mode" that allows users to ask follow-up questions within search, powered by their Gemini 2.0 and 2.5 models.

This approach fundamentally differs from traditional search because it doesn't require an immediate decision on "what you meant." You remain in control, directing the conversation where your interests take you.

AI-driven personalization is already transforming gaming experiences by dynamically adjusting difficulty levels to match player skills and preferences, keeping them engaged longer. Similar adaptive technology will soon power our search wanderings, learning from our interests and guiding us toward relevant discoveries without forcing us down predetermined paths.

The Business Impact: From Ads to Personalized Offers

This new model breaks the traditional advertising paradigm.

If there is no clear query and no destination, how do you display the right ad? Interrupting a flowing conversation with an ad break feels jarring and unnatural. Nobody wants that.

But offers? Offers are different.

During your search wandering, you can simply say: "Are there any deals related to what we're talking about?" And the AI can check.

It might respond, "You were discussing this museum—there's a discount for first-time visitors. Want me to reserve a spot?"

This approach resembles the proactive customer support that 71% of customers now prefer from brands.

That's not advertising. That's helpful. That's timely. Most importantly, it's driven by what you just discovered you want, not what a brand hopes you're thinking about.

AI is already reshaping advertising by optimizing ad targeting through predictive analytics and audience segmentation. Platforms like Google AdSense use machine learning to analyze user behavior, enabling real-time personalized ad campaigns.

AI identifies emerging trends, audience behaviors, and demographic nuances, enabling companies to design hyper-targeted marketing campaigns that drive audience growth and improve engagement rates.

When applied to conversational search, this capability becomes even more powerful, as it can respond to interest signals in real-time rather than relying on past behavior patterns.

Educational Applications: Learning Through Curiosity

This conversational “wandering” approach to search has tremendous implications for education as well.

Children with downtime can explore topics that naturally interest them rather than following rigid lesson plans. They can wander into science, history, or music—wherever their curiosity leads. AI can provide visuals, offer context, and suggest connections that deepen their understanding.

It's the difference between being taught and choosing to learn.

And the difference is massive.

In the entertainment sector, AI is already powering adaptive experiences that analyze user behavior and adjust scenarios or even storylines in real-time. Applied to educational contexts, this same technology could create personalized learning journeys that adapt to a child's interests and learning style.

The potential extends beyond children.

Conversational AI is now being used in e-commerce, education, and entertainment to create more personalized experiences. For adults seeking to expand their knowledge, conversational search offers a more natural way to explore complex topics without the frustration of formulating perfect search queries.

AI analytics can identify trends, predict preferences, and even forecast the potential success of new content, helping producers invest in projects with a high probability of success while better catering to audience demand. This capability could transform how educational content is created and delivered, focusing resources on approaches that best engage learners.

Challenges in Implementing Conversational Search

Despite its promise, conversational search faces several hurdles before becoming mainstream.

While conversational search technology has advanced significantly, complicated queries and model limitations can cause issues. Continued research into voice recognition and transcription is necessary to enhance accuracy and reliability.

There's also the issue of standardization.

Conversational search currently lacks unified standards across platforms and devices, resulting in inconsistencies in the user experience. As we increasingly rely on this technology, establishing industry standards will be crucial.

Privacy concerns cannot be overlooked either.

Conversational AI collects extensive user data to function effectively, with 72% of users noticing AI's growing ability to understand human language and communication styles. This data collection raises important questions about consent, security, and privacy that must be addressed.

Energy consumption presents another challenge. As more AI-powered streaming services expand, cloud computing and AI model training require vast amounts of energy, especially for services like Netflix, YouTube, and Disney+. Similar concerns will apply to the widespread adoption of conversational search.

The Human Connection in an AI World

What makes conversational search particularly compelling is its ability to mimic human interaction. We don't naturally communicate in keywords and structured queries—we talk, we ask questions, we follow threads of interest.

The technology is becoming sophisticated enough to support this natural mode of exploration.

Conversational AI is already changing how we engage with entertainment and media content, with expectations for continued growth as the technology matures.

The future of search isn't about finding faster answers; it's about finding more relevant ones.

It's about creating richer journeys of discovery.

It's about turning information retrieval into a form of entertainment that's valuable precisely because it doesn't try to manipulate your attention or hijack your dopamine pathways.

It respects the human desire to wander, to be curious, to discover.

And in doing so, it might become one of our most valued forms of entertainment.