'AI' is trending in Google searches — but it's not yet to the peak reached by Bitcoin in 2017

• "AI" is trending in Google searches, but it hasn't yet hit the peak seen by Bitcoin in 2017.
• An Alliance Bernstein analyst crunched the numbers using Google Trends data.

AI is making waves as it infiltrates more of everyday life, but a tech specialist at Alliance Bernstein noticed that people aren't searching for it as much as they did Bitcoin in 2017.

In Mark Schilsky's note to investors on Wednesday, he said interest in the term "AI" was at an "all-time high" based on data from Google Trends, which tracks how much people are searching for particular terms.

But, he noted, "it's still far below the absolute hype of 'Bitcoin.'"

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Schilsky's report shows a line chart comparing three search terms: "AI," "metaverse," and "Bitcoin." He pegged those as the buzziest segments of the tech industry over the past five years.

As for the latest data, it's possible that people haven't been googling "AI" with the same frequency they googled "Bitcoin" at the height of its mania in 2017 because the terms "artificial intelligence" and "AI" have been around for decades — at least since the 1950s. (Bitcoin, on the other hand, was a relatively new invention at the time.)

And the metaverse hasn't spiked significantly higher perhaps because many still view it as a place for video games and not something the average person can use in their ordinary life — much to Mark Zuckerberg's chagrin.

With the trendline for "AI" searches — and its apparent inevitable march to be an ever-more important part of our lives — it's likely only a matter of time before it surpasses "Bitcoin" for search volume. But we're not there quite yet.