In our continuing series of examining Google Search Trends to gain insights into the top keywords queried in the USA, we present our findings for February 2023. Every day, we capture the top three keyword phrases in terms of search volume as reported by Google Trends (US Only). Each term has an estimated query volume attached to it, which we also record. The number scale tops out at 10,000,000+ with a lower limit of 200,000+ (sometimes 100,000+). After the conclusion of the month, we look at the phrases we collected along with their volumes to get an understanding of what drove queries for the month. The Shortest Month Although there are only 28 days in February, the month is packed with annual, exciting topics to search. With the holidays of Groundhog Day and Valentine’s Day as two of the month’s anchors, this year the celebration of Mardi Gras occurred in February. Of course the biggest “holiday” is Super Bowl Sunday.  We have some great insights on that spectacle in this report. Other big topics that drove searches were the Chinese balloons, the Grammy Awards, the earthquakes in Turkey, multiple video games releases, the State of the Union address, and a food related query.  Lastly, the NBA had their All Star game and a few major trades had people Googling some player names.  Also, a rival search engine made our list of top queried phrases in February 2023.  Here are all our thoughts of the month that was in Google’s Daily Search Trends. Those February Holidays In the dead of winter, it’s nice to have some things to celebrate.  Let’s see how popular the holidays of February are this year. Groundhog Day 2023 - 2/1/2023 - 5,000,000+ queries Valentine's Day - 2/13/2023 - 10,000,000+ queries Mardi Gras - 2/21/2023 - 200,000+ queries As you can see from this chart, queries for Groundhog Day hit a 5 year high last month.   Interest in the holiday may have been aided by the news story about the death of Fred La Marmotte passed away hours before he was supposed to look for his shadow. Valentine’s Day was aided by a Google Doodle but its popularity has not recovered from the pandemic yet.  The 5 year search interest peak occurred in 2020.  On the flip side, Mardi Gras made the daily top 3 this year and has regained pre-pandemic query volume.   The World of Entertainment February had a good number of movie and TV show releases, a couple of award shows, and a concert tour announcement. Beyonce Renaissance Tour - 2/1/2023 - 1,000,000+ queries Yes, Queen Bey is going on tour this year and the Instagram announcement was made on the 1st.  Later on in the month, other musical artists were celebrated at the Grammys.   Grammys 2023 - 2/4/2023 - 5,000,000+ queries Harry Styles - 2/5/2023 - 1,000,000+ queries Harry Styles performed at the show and won the Album of the Year award.  The Screen Actors Guild Awards show happened on the 26th and people searched to learn more. SAG Awards 2023 - 2/26/2023 - 500,000+ queries A couple of new movies that were released in February made the top 3 of Google’s Daily Trends: Ant-Man Quantumania - 2/16/2023 - 200,000+ queries Cocaine Bear - 2/24/2023 - 500,000+ queries The latest Marvel Cinematic Universe movie was released on the 17th and the Elizabeth Banks directed film was released on the 24th. Finally, there were three TV shows that were interesting enough to drive people to query Google to find more information. Last of Us - 2/19/2023 - 200,000+ queries Outer Banks - 2/22/2023 - 500,000+ queries We Have a Ghost - 2/24/2023 - 200,000+ queries Episode 6 of The Last of Us show was compelling.  No spoilers here.  Season 3 of the Netflix show “Outer Banks” was made available for streaming on the 23rd.  Also on Netflix, the show “We Have a Ghost”  was released on the 24th. Spy Balloons Over the first week of February, there were Chinese spy balloons floating over the USA.  Here’s how the ordeal unfolded on Google’s Daily Trends. China spy balloon - 2/2/2023 - 1,000,000+ queries Chinese balloon - 2/2/2023 - 1,000,000+ queries Chinese spy balloon - 2/2/2023 - 500,000+ queries Chinese spy balloons - 2/3/2023 - 500,000+ queries Chinese balloon - 2/4/2023 - 2,000,000+ queries Alaska - 2/10/2023 - 200,000+ queries The last phrase, “Alaska” was connected to news that a high-altitude object was shot down by the US military.   A Big Month For Video Game Releases From time to time, Gaming topics make our report.  February 2023 was an outlier as we saw three big game launches garner enough search interest to pierce the daily top 3.  Hogwarts Legacy - 2/6/2023 - 1,000,000+ queries Atomic Heart - 2/20/2023 - 200,000+ queries Sons of the Forest - 2/23/2023 - 200,000+ queries The team at AMP wonders if we will see more game titles in our future reports. Earthquake in Turkey The devastating earthquakes in Turkey drove users to Google in search of more details. Turkey earthquake - 2/5/2023 - 2,000,000+ queries Turkey earthquake - 2/21/2023 - 200,000+ queries On February 6th local time, there were two major earthquakes that caused major structure damage and tens of thousands of casualties.  Then, just over 2 weeks later, there was another quake that was thankfully less intense but still made people want to learn more. It Ain’t Too Sweet We usually get excited about food-related queries, but not so much with this one. Erythritol - 2/27/2023 - 200,000+ queries The sugar substitute was reported to be linked to higher heart attack and stroke risks.   State of The Union The State of the Union address was a popular topic that span a couple of days last month. State of the Union - 2/6/2023 - 1,000,000+ queries State of the Union 2023 - 2/6/2023 - 500,000+ queries State of the Union 2023 - 2/7/2023 - 500,000+ queries The next week, Nikki Haley announced her presidential bid. Nikki Haley - 2/14/2023 - 500,000+ queries Sports Queries Not Related To The Super Bowl Sports are quite interesting.  Topics related to sports are always in the Daily Trends.  February has the biggest American sporting event of the year but there were other topics that drove searches that were not Super Bowl related. Tom Brady - 2/1/2023 - 2,000,000+ queries Tom Brady announced his retirement again but it is for real this time, we think. The NBA is halfway through its season so that means it is time for trades and the All Star Game.  Some star players and the teams conducting the trade were searched for last month. Kyrie Irving - 2/3/2023 - 1,000,000+ queries Kyrie Irving trade - 2/4/2023 - 200,000+ queries Kyrie Irving - 2/5/2023 - 2,000,000+ queries Lakers - 2/7/2023 - 2,000,000+ queries Russell Westbrook - 2/7/2023 - 2,000,000+ queries Kevin Durant - 2/8/2023 - 2,000,000+ queries Utah Jazz - 2/8/2023 - 200,000+ queries Kyrie Irving - 2/9/2023 - 200,000+ queries Russell Westbrook - 2/20/2023 - 200,000+ queries Clippers - 2/24/2023 - 500,000+ queries Russell Westbrook was moved from the Lakers to the Jazz and then finally to the Clippers.  The All Star game was popular this year with Mac McClung making a name for himself. Mac McClung - 2/17/2023 - 1,000,000+ queries NBA All-Star Game - 2/17/2023 - 200,000+ queries The young G League player won the 2023 slam dunk contest and became a search sensation. The Big Game The most impressive topic of February 2023 from a search volume perspective is the Super Bowl.  In an era where our consumption of entertainment is scattered and diversified, the NFL’s championship game still draws a mass audience on a yearly basis. Here are the top three most queried phrases from the day before the game. Super Bowl - 2/11/2023 - 10,000,000+ queries Super Bowl 2023 time - 2/11/2023 - 2,000,000+ queries What time is the Super Bowl - 2/11/2023 - 2,000,000+ queries We took a screenshot of the top 4 keyword phrases.  Clearly the time the game starts is an important factor for a lot of people.  The AMP Agency team thinks this insight could be used for a marketing campaign that revolves around the preparation for the game.  Maybe you could build a tool that helps you schedule when chicken wings should go in the oven so they are ready for game time. The queries on Super Bowl Sunday are all about the entertainment. Rihanna - 2/12/2023 - 10,000,000+ queries Chris Stapleton - 2/12/2023 - 2,000,000+ queries Rihanna performed the half-time show and Chris Stapleton sang the National Anthem. Bing To close out, Google’s daily trends registered queries for another search engine last month. Bing - 2/8/2023 - 200,000+ queries On the 8th, Microsoft announced they were rolling out a new version of Bing search. This new version would have a component powered by OpenAI's GTP artificial intelligence. The full service can be found in the Edge browser.  Interesting times lie ahead for search with the introduction of AI.  We shall be here to observe and report as it unfolds. Thanks for reading. If you liked this article, we utilize search trends data for all of our clients and we invite you to learn more about our SEO services.

Consent and Advanced PII in the Context of Conversations with an AI Over 100 million users have signed up to use ChatGPT since OpenAI’s generative AI product launched in November 2022.1 ChatGPT users have prompted the advanced LLM (large language model) with fun and innocuous inquiries, like coming up with the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe. Or using its generative capabilities to create playable table-top role-playing game scenarios. The possibilities seem endless. Many in the digital world recognize generative AI’s potential and contemplate how they can integrate it into their business; however, there’s a catch. The personal data inputted into AI chatbots can be compromised, creating privacy and consent risks. These engines introduce an added layer of complexity to your technology stack, which can impact your business and your user’s experiences.  The first concern is managing consent. When you input a chat prompt and receive an output, you’re feeding information into a collective algorithm.2 According to the makers of ChatGPT, they do not recommend divulging personal, confidential information or secrets.3 Not everyone will read the full terms of service and data privacy statements when interacting with AI chat, potentially forfeiting their confidential information to the collective model. The current implementation also does not overly warn users of the potential risks or provide clear instructions to avoid these risks. As people push the limits of the tech, there may be output prompts that deviate from the topic of focus, are factually untrue, or inappropriate for minors. There’s also the question of consent to communication preferences—as there seems to be few in current iterations of AI chatbots, especially when it comes to topics and subject matter. In traditional marketing channels, users can typically choose which channels they receive communications (SMS, email, etc.), the topics, and the frequency. GDPR, the regulation which protects data and privacy in the EU, dictates several stipulations to define marketing consent, to which current generative AI does not readily adhere. The framework states that marketing consent includes, but is not limited to: Consent must be clear and easily understood  Consent must be given freely with no deception or coercion Consent is a one-time, non-editable event for a specific item or action Consent cannot be posed in an overarching manner (i.e, “I consent to everything”) Consent must be a positive/affirmative action executed by the user Microsoft Bing released an AI chatbot that turned conversations into odd, alarming territories. A New York Times reporter released a transcript of his conversation with the chatbot wherein it claimed that he was not happy in his marriage and that the chatbot loved him.4 Snapchat introduced “My AI” in late February, which uses a modified version of OpenAI’s GPT technology for its Snapchat+ subscribers. The chatbot for Snapchat does possess some limitations—it won’t engage with topics concerning politics, violence, swearing, and academic essay writing (given the typical Snapchat demographic).5  Another issue that will come from implementing these new technologies is the question of monetization and topic promotion. If a user feeds personal identifiable information (PII) or protected health information (PHI) into its algorithm, AI chatbots can absorb that information. Some may argue it will be the user’s responsibility, but it isn’t as cut-and-dry. For example, a lawyer might input some information to generate contract language, unwittingly adding that personal information into the collective.6  As AI technology advances, there will be discussions on how PII is handled or monetized by third-party groups. For instance, would it be ethical for a generalized chatbot to promote a skincare product if prompted to describe an ideal nighttime skincare routine?  Understanding new technologies and their implementation, like the ChatGPT large language model, is how AMPXD stays at the top of our field. We analyze new technology and determine how you can integrate it into your existing platforms. As experts in data privacy regulations (GDPR, HIPPA, CAN-SPAM, COPPA, CCPA), you can feel confident about implementing generative AI into your technology stack in ways that don’t unknowingly compromise customer PII or PHI.  GDS brings together the sharpest minds in the industry to solve tomorrow’s marketing technology challenges. AMP XD has over 25 years of experience and a culture of accountability. We’re excited to be part of the conversation and find a solution to transform your business through generative AI capabilities.  1Engadget, “How AI will change the way we search, for better or worse.” https://www.engadget.com/how-ai-will-change-the-way-we-search-for-better-or-worse-200021092.html 2Forbes, “Generative AI ChatGPT Can Disturbingly Gobble Up Your Private And Confidential Data, Forewarns AI Ethics And AI Law.” https://www.forbes.com/sites/lanceeliot/2023/01/27/generative-ai-chatgpt-can-disturbingly-gobble-up-your-private-and-confidential-data-forewarns-ai-ethics-and-ai-law/?sh=71790ff97fdb 3OpenAI, ChatGPT FAQ. https://help.openai.com/en/articles/6783457-chatgpt-general-faq 4Engadget, “Microsoft limits Bing conversations to prevent disturbing chatbot responses.” https://www.engadget.com/microsoft-limits-bing-conversations-to-prevent-disturbing-chatbot-responses-154142211.html 5ZDNet, “ChatGPT is coming to Snapchat. Just don't tell it your secrets.” https://www.zdnet.com/article/chatgpt-is-coming-to-snapchat-just-dont-tell-it-your-secrets/ 6Forbes, “Generative AI ChatGPT Can Disturbingly Gobble Up Your Private And Confidential Data, Forewarns AI Ethics And AI Law.” https://www.forbes.com/sites/lanceeliot/2023/01/27/generative-ai-chatgpt-can-disturbingly-gobble-up-your-private-and-confidential-data-forewarns-ai-ethics-and-ai-law/?sh=71790ff97fdb

In our continuing series of examining Google Search Trends to gain insights into the top keywords queried in the USA, we present our findings for January 2023. Every day, we capture the top three keyword phrases in terms of search volume as reported by Google Trends (US Only). Each term has an estimated query volume attached to it, which we also record. The number scale tops out at 10,000,000+ with a lower limit of 200,000+ (sometimes 100,000+). After the conclusion of the month, we look at the phrases we collected along with their volumes to get an understanding of what drove queries for the month. The Start of a New Year 2023 began with many of the same topics being searched as we had in 2022. If you don’t know already, the NFL is very popular. It was the most queried subject of the month, and more so this January because of a medical emergency of one of the players. We had a few weather events and tech company layoffs last month. We still can tell what the most popular TV shows and movies are by the volume of search queries. Lastly and sadly, police violence is still a reality and driving search queries. Here’s our analysis of the top trending keywords from January 2023. Two Holidays There were 4 keyword phrases that made the 10 million plus club last month.  Two of them were related to holidays: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Day - 1/15/2023 - 10,000,000+ queries Lunar New Year - 1/21/2023 - 10,000,000+ queries Both of these holidays were celebrated with Google Doodles.  Here’s the updated logo for MLK day 2023:   The other two queries were related to the NFL and will be examined later in this post. Tyre Nichols On January 26th, the Grand Jury of the State of Tennessee indicted the five Memphis Police officers who are accused of charges related to the beating and death of Tyre Nichols. Tyre Nichols - 1/26/2023 - 2,000,000+ queries Memphis police - 1/26/2023 - 500,000+ queries Tyre Nichols body cam - 1/26/2023 - 200,000+ queries Tyre Nichols - 1/27/2023 - 5,000,000+ queries The video footage from the traffic stop drew a lot of interest from people searching on Google.  Queries for this topic spanned across two days last month. Films and Shows The data tells us the most interesting movies and TV shows of January 2023 are as follows: M3GAN - 1/5/2023 - 200,000+ queries The Pale Blue Eye - 1/6/2023 - 200,000+ queries The Last of Us HBO - 1/15/2023 - 1,000,000+ queries That '90s Show - 1/19/2023 - 500,000+ queries The film M3GAN had its wide theatrical release and The Pale Blue Eye was made available for streaming on Netflix on the 6th.  The HBOMax show The Last of US had its debut on the 15th and That ‘90s Show premiered on the 19th.  Movie Awards After a hiatus, the Golden Globes were back this year and people were interested enough to query Google to learn more. Golden Globes 2023 - 1/10/2023 - 2,000,000+ queries Everything Everywhere All at Once - 1/10/2023 - 500,000+ queries A few of the actors (Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan) in the film Everything Everywhere All at Once won awards at the ceremony.  Movie award season continued with the announcement of the Oscar nominations on the 23rd. Oscar Nominations 2023 - 1/23/2023 - 2,000,000+ queries Check back for our March 2023 report where we will analyze the queries related to that award show.  Hopefully, it won’t involve any slapping. Tech Layoffs As we saw towards the end of last year, big tech companies had layoffs in January 2023, which led to search queries of company names. Salesforce - 1/4/2023 - 200,000+ queries Spotify - 1/9/2023 - 500,000+ queries We hope there won’t be more topics related to layoffs in the coming year. Weather Near the beginning of the month, wild weather drove people to query these keywords to learn more. Bomb cyclone - 1/3/2023 - 200,000+ queries California storm - 1/4/2023 - 200,000+ queries In other natural occurrence news, the appearance of a comet also piqued the interest of Google Searchers. Green Comet - 1/31/2023 - 500,000+ queries We hope you were able to see it. Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) isn’t due back for thousands of years.  The Most Popular Sport in the USA Far and away, the US search audience queries about the National Football League more than any other professional sports organization.  Last month, 30 of the 93 phrases we collected were related to the NFL.  In this section, we present only the keywords that were queried over 1 million times in a day - starting with the ones that were queried over 10 million times. Damar Hamlin - 1/2/2023 - 10,000,000+ queries Bengals vs Chiefs - 1/28/2023 - 10,000,000+ queries Damar Hamlin’s on-field medical emergency was a topic that went beyond sports and drove a large number of queries.  The keyword phrase related to the AFC championship game was the other topic that drove the highest reported query volume from Google Trends.  We guess people were not as interested in the NFC championship game. Here’s the rest of the NFL-related keywords:  NFL - 1/7/2023 - 5,000,000+ queries Chiefs - 1/7/2023 - 1,000,000+ queries Jacksonville Jaguars - 1/7/2023 - 1,000,000+ queries Seahawks - 1/8/2023 - 1,000,000+ queries 49ers - 1/13/2023 - 2,000,000+ queries Chargers - 1/14/2023 - 5,000,000+ queries Giants - 1/15/2023 - 2,000,000+ queries Kansas City Chiefs - 1/20/2023 - 2,000,000+ queries Giants vs Eagles - 1/20/2023 - 1,000,000+ queries Cowboys - 1/21/2023 - 5,000,000+ queries Cowboys vs 49ers - 1/21/2023 - 2,000,000+ queries 49ers vs Eagles - 1/27/2023 - 1,000,000+ queries Chiefs vs Bengals - 1/28/2023 - 2,000,000+ queries 49ers vs Eagles - 1/28/2023 - 2,000,000+ queries Next month, we will have the recap on the Superbowl queries.  We wonder if people will be interested in when the game starts. It’s Not The World Cup The other football known as soccer here in the States is still popular.  Check out these 5 queries related to matches held in January 2023. Chelsea vs Man City - 1/5/2023 - 500,000+ queries Man United vs Man City - 1/13/2023 - 500,000+ queries Real Madrid vs Barcelona - 1/14/2023 - 1,000,000+ queries PSG vs Al Nassr - 1/18/2023 - 2,000,000+ queries Man City vs Tottenham - 1/19/2023 - 500,000+ queries It’s not at the level of the World Cup but still enough volume to make the daily top 3. NBA We saw a good number of queries related to the NBA.  Donovan Mitchell - 1/2/2023 - 500,000+ queries Lakers - 1/12/2023 - 500,000+ queries Celtics - 1/12/2023 - 100,000+ queries Celtics - 1/24/2023 - 100,000+ queries Knicks - 1/24/2023 - 100,000+ queries Lakers - 1/25/2023 - 200,000+ queries Warriors - 1/25/2023 - 200,000+ queries Donovan Mitchell scored 71 points on the 2nd.  The other queries were related to teams playing on that day. Did your favorite team make the list?   Wrestling Some may argue the validity of the sport, but Professional Wrestling made the daily top 3 twice last month. Jay Briscoe - 1/17/2023 - 500,000+ queries Royal Rumble 2023 - 1/27/2023 - 500,000+ queries Jay Briscoe was a Ring of Honor wrestler who passed away on the 17th. The other keyword phrase was related to their annual Royal Rumble event. Although the number of phrases related to Wrestling are small, they do pick up when there are big events or news stories related to this form of entertainment.  Looking Towards February The last phrase on our list was a forward-looking keyword. Black History Month - 1/30/2023 - 200,000+ queries As we look back at the first month of the year, it’s good to know that there is more to come in the near future. Thanks for reading. If you liked this article, we utilize search trends data for all of our clients and we invite you to learn more about our SEO services.