“ok dumb question but is chatgpt basically just google now?? when should i use which one”

It’s a fair question. ChatGPT and Google can feel like they do the same job these days, but they’re built to do different things.

Google is a search engine. You type something in, and it shows you a list of pages that already exist on the internet. You click through and read them yourself.

ChatGPT writes you an answer instead. The newer versions can search the web while they do this, but they’re then pulling together what they find into a new piece of writing, rather than pointing you at other people’s pages.

Which one to use depends on what you need. If you want an actual source, like a recipe, a news article, a specific website or a product page, go to Google. If you want something explained, summarised, or pulled together from several places at once, ChatGPT is often quicker. Ask it to give you the links it used so you can check them yourself.

One thing worth knowing. Because ChatGPT writes a fresh answer based on what it finds, it can sometimes get a source wrong, or summarise it in a way that changes the meaning. If the answer matters, like anything to do with health or money, open the link and check it.