OpenAI Expands ChatGPT Search to All Users: A New Era in Online Search

On Monday, OpenAI made a significant announcement by extending the ChatGPT Search engine to all users, even those utilizing the free tier. This AI-driven search tool was initially made available exclusively to paid subscribers in October.

What Happened: During its latest update in the "12 Days of OpenAI" livestream event, the company introduced enhancements that included an optimized mobile version of the search feature as well as an advanced voice mode for searching.

One of the most notable improvements for mobile users is the redesign of ChatGPT to function more like a traditional search engine. When users enter queries, such as finding local restaurants or attractions, ChatGPT will now present a list of relevant results complete with images, user ratings, and operational hours.

Additionally, a new feature has been launched to streamline searches for specific sites like “hotel booking websites.” Instead of generating an answer right away, ChatGPT is now programmed to first display relevant links to these websites followed by detailed information about each choice.

Moreover, ChatGPT can automatically fetch real-time information from the web via Advanced Voice Mode, an enhancement currently reserved for paid subscribers.

OpenAI's ChatGPT has been gathering popularity, with a survey from earlier this month indicating that it had become the preferred search engine for 5% of respondents, a significant rise from just 1% in June.

In previous livestream sessions, OpenAI also revealed the launch of its text-to-image model, Sora, along with a new subscription tier called ChatGPT Pro priced at $200 per month.

Why It Matters: The emergence of OpenAI’s ChatGPT Search signals a potential challenge to Google, which is a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc. In 2023, Google Search contributed $175.0 billion, representing 73.6% of the total advertising revenue of Alphabet, which reached $237.9 billion.

While both ChatGPT Search and Google serve different purposes, their functionalities stand in contrast. ChatGPT offers personalized, conversational responses that are context-aware, whereas Google prioritizes quickly retrieving a wide array of content through relevance-based algorithms.

Despite providing real-time updates, ChatGPT lacks the depth and comprehensive features seen in Google's platform. Conversely, while Google incorporates AI features, it does not provide the conversational engagement that ChatGPT offers.

In the broader landscape, Google is also facing rising competition from Perplexity, an AI-powered search engine backed by Jeff Bezos. This competitor has witnessed significant growth, answering 250 million questions in July 2023, an increase from over 500 million queries answered the previous year.

As we enter a period of transformation in the online search sector, it will be interesting to see how these developments play out and whether ChatGPT can carve out a significant portion of the market currently dominated by Google.

OpenAI, ChatGPT, Search