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OpenAI has introduced a new search feature in its ChatGPT chatbot, that positions the AI startup’s ability to compete with search engines like Google, Microsoft’s Bing, and Perplexity.
According to the company, ChatGPT’s search feature, known as SearchGPT, provides real-time access to sports scores, stock quotes, news, weather, and more through live web search and partnerships with news and data providers. ReadWrite reported that it began beta testing in July, and is powered by large language models, specifically GPT-3.5, GPT-4, and GPT-4o.
OpenAI’s new search feature, powered by its 4.0 model, launches for paid ChatGPT Plus and Team users on Thursday, (Oct. 31) via mobile and web. Enterprise, educational, and free users will gain access over time. The release could impact Google’s search dominance, stirring investor concerns over market share shifts, as shares of Alphabet were down around 1% following the news.
This move also positions OpenAI as a competitor to Microsoft and its businesses. Despite Microsoft’s nearly $14 billion investment in OpenAI, the company’s products compete directly with Microsoft’s own AI and search tools, like Copilot and Bing.
What engines does SearchGPT use?
On a Reddit thread, OpenAI’s engineering vice president, Srinivas Narayanan, wrote: “We use a set of services and Bing is an important one.”
While the company’s CEO, Sam Altman, posted on X that search is his “favorite feature we have launched” in ChatGPT since the chatbot’s original debut. He added that it had “doubled” his own usage of ChatGPT.
search is my favorite feature we have launched in chatgpt since the original the launch!
it has probably doubled my usage over the past few weeks. https://t.co/alD11AwUUb
— Sam Altman (@sama) October 31, 2024
He also stated on the Reddit question and answer session that he found it to be “a way faster/easier way” to get the information required.
Altman continued: “[I] think we’ll see this, especially for queries that require more complex research.”
OpenAI’s relationship with publishers
OpenAI stated that SearchGPT won’t favor partnered news publishers. Any website or publisher can appear in ChatGPT Search. However, as with all generative AI, there’s a risk of inaccuracies as a demo in July once provided incorrect festival dates.
OpenAI is reportedly working closely with news publishers to develop this feature, gathering their feedback throughout the process. Timely news content from these publishers will appear in response to relevant queries.
The company is currently collaborating with the news industry, listening to feedback from partners, including the Associated Press, Axel Springer, Condé Nast, Dotdash Meredith, Financial Times, GEDI, Hearst, Le Monde, News Corp, Prisa (El País), Reuters, The Atlantic, Time, and Vox Media. Any website or publisher can opt to be featured in ChatGPT search results.
Responses is said to include clear, in-line attribution and links, so that users can see the source of information and explore additional results in a sidebar with source links. That said, The New York Times sued Microsoft and OpenAI for alleged copyright infringement back in December 2023. This was one of the first legal fights about generative AI technologies and journalism to go public.
In an earlier blog post, it stated that finding answers online “can take a lot of effort” and believes that “enhancing the conversational capabilities of our models with real-time information from the web” can simplify and speed up the search process.
ReadWrite has reached out to OpenAI for comment.
Featured image: OpenAI / Canva
