OpenAI is launching a search engine in a bid to take on tech giant Google and fellow AI upstart Perplexity.
Instead of sifting through countless search results, “SearchGPT” will directly answer your questions, the company said in a blog post.
It will also field follow-up questions, with the AI remembering the context of your previous queries to refine the results, making searching the web feel more like a conversation.
While it is currently a “prototype,” limited to 10,000 users and publishers, the goal is to eventually integrate its best features into ChatGPT, the AI chatbot used by 100 million weekly users, the company noted.
“Getting answers on the web can take a lot of effort, often requiring multiple attempts to get relevant results,” OpenAI said.
“We believe that by enhancing the conversational capabilities of our models with real-time information from the web, finding what you’re looking for can be faster and easier.”
we think there is room to make search much better than it is today.
— Sam Altman (@sama) July 25, 2024
we are launching a new prototype called SearchGPT: https://t.co/A28Y03X1So
we will learn from the prototype, make it better, and then integrate the tech into ChatGPT to make it real-time and maximally helpful.
How is it different to ChatGPT?
Unlike ChatGPT, which can browse the web to inform its answers, SearchGPT is a fully-fledged search engine, providing users with a conversational interface to explore the internet.
Users start with a search box to enter their queries, and the web results include a brief description with links to the sources, with additional results displayed in a sidebar.
For instance, OpenAI illustrated how a query about the "best tomatoes to grow in Minnesota" would yield a description of suitable varieties and their characteristics, with hyperlinks to the web sources.
Is it better than Google?
By offering clear citations and collaborating with publishers, SearchGPT promises a more transparent and reliable search experience compared to an AI chatbot, potentially challenging the dominance of traditional search giants.
Both Google and Microsoft are integrating AI into their search engines (though the upgrades have yet to reach the UK) in response to the rise of generative AI fueled by ChatGPT.
A Jeff Bezos-backed startup named Perplexity has also gained traction with its AI search engine, which boasts 10 million monthly users.
The problem with AI search
However, not everyone is a fan of the tech. Critics argue that AI-generated search results often lack accuracy and can be misleading, with bots prone to fabricating information.
Earlier this year, Google was forced to scale back its AI-generated summaries after the system began spouting false answers, including telling people to eat glue.
Copyright infringement is another major issue, as AI models can incorporate content without proper attribution or compensation to publishers. Perplexity AI has been accused of scraping content from high-profile publications such as Forbes, Bloomberg, CNBC, and Wired without proper authorisation or credit.
More broadly, the shift towards AI-generated summaries threatens traditional news outlets reliant on search traffic for revenue.
Who are OpenAI’s publishing partners?
To quell any concerns, OpenAI is striking licensing deals with publications and promising to offer insights into how their content performs. Its partners include the Associated Press, Business Insider publisher Axel Springer, The Financial Times, News Corp and The Atlantic, among others.
These partnerships typically involve access to content, licensing for AI use, enhanced publisher visibility, and financial compensation.
OpenAI’s SearchGPT has been at the center of speculation for months. Bloomberg initially claimed the tool would launch in May, only for OpenAI to release its GPT-4o large language model instead.
How to try it for yourself
Want to give SearchGPT a go? You can request to try the prototype by joining the waitlist on OpenAI’s website.
