OpenAI Launches Search Engine SearchGPT to Compete with Google and Microsoft

OpenAI is entering the competitive world of search engines with the release of its new product, SearchGPT. This innovative search engine is designed to directly challenge Google, currently the leading search platform.

On Thursday, OpenAI officially presented its AI-driven search engine, which provides users with instant access to various types of real-time data, including sports scores, stock market quotes, news updates, and weather forecasts.

A significant feature of SearchGPT is its collaboration with several reputable news organizations. This partnership allows the search engine to access and pull information from these companies’ original content, enriching the data available to users seeking accurate and up-to-date information.

OpenAI's SearchGPT is integrated within its widely-used ChatGPT chatbot, presenting a serious challenge to Google's market dominance. Following the announcement, shares of Google’s parent company, Alphabet, dropped by approximately 1%.

In addition to Google, SearchGPT poses a competitive threat to Microsoft’s Bing, which is not as widely used, as well as other AI-based search platforms like Perplexity. Microsoft has heavily invested in OpenAI, with nearly $14 billion committed, even though OpenAI’s new offerings create direct competition with Microsoft’s existing products.

In response to user questions about whether OpenAI utilized Bing technology for its chatbot’s search capabilities, OpenAI’s engineering VP, Srinivas Narayana, remarked that they leverage a variety of services, with Bing being a key component.

OpenAI has made SearchGPT available starting Thursday to users subscribed to ChatGPT Plus, Team, and those on the SearchGPT waitlist. Access will gradually extend to ChatGPT Enterprise and Education users in the upcoming weeks, and eventually, to those using the free version of ChatGPT.

Users can engage with SearchGPT in a more natural and conversational manner, allowing them to ask follow-up questions for nuanced inquiries. During a Reddit AMA session, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman highlighted the efficiency of the new search engine, stating, "I find it to be a way faster/easier way to get the information I’m looking for. I think we’ll see this especially for queries that require more complex research." He also expressed enthusiasm about the potential for dynamic web pages tailored to users' specific search requests in the future.

SearchGPT is still being refined, with OpenAI actively incorporating feedback from the initial prototype to enhance its features. The company is particularly focused on improving the search experience related to shopping and travel suggestions.

Thanks to its collaborations with major news outlets such as The Associated Press, Reuters, Axel Springer, Condé Nast, Hearst, Dotdash Meredith, the Financial Times, Le Monde, The Atlantic, Time, Vox Media, and News Corp (owner of the New York Post), SearchGPT promises to deliver a wealth of news-related content.

As OpenAI continues to develop its technology, it recently announced the completion of a funding round, reaching a valuation of $157 billion, which included $6.6 billion raised in this latest round. Meanwhile, competitors, including start-ups like xAI founded by Elon Musk, are also striving to keep pace in this rapidly evolving landscape.

OpenAI's recent decisions, such as dissolving certain advisory teams focused on AI management, have faced scrutiny, but the company’s ambitious plans to reshape the search engine market are becoming apparent.

OpenAI, SearchGPT, competition