OpenAI Launches ChatGPT Search: A New Challenge to Google’s Search Dominance

OpenAI has officially launched its long-anticipated ChatGPT search feature, allowing select ChatGPT users to directly search the web within the platform. This rollout marks a significant milestone in OpenAI’s expansion into AI-driven search, aiming to provide a streamlined, ad-free alternative to traditional search engines like Google.

What’s New?

ChatGPT search, available for ChatGPT Plus and Team users, brings a clutter-free, intuitive interface that emphasizes direct answers and real-time information across categories like weather, stocks, sports, news, and maps. Users can access the new search feature by clicking the web search icon, as shown in the screenshot provided. This new functionality also includes inline citations and a “Sources” button for transparency, directing users to a sidebar of source links when clicked.

Why It Matters

With Google’s search monopoly largely uncontested, ChatGPT search offers a fresh alternative that prioritizes user experience and relevancy without the traditional ads and extra features often associated with other search engines. Although it’s early to predict its impact, ChatGPT search is already outperforming some other AI search engines like Perplexity and Claude in terms of referral traffic to brands.

How It Works

The technology behind ChatGPT search includes a fine-tuned version of GPT-4, enhanced with synthetic data generation methods and partnerships with third-party providers, including Microsoft Bing. This partnership allows OpenAI to pull real-time data from Bing, sharing search query and location data with Microsoft in the process.

Expanding Access and Future Plans

Currently, users can access ChatGPT search at chatgpt.com and through ChatGPT’s desktop and mobile apps. OpenAI has announced plans to extend availability to free ChatGPT users over the coming months, along with a Chrome Extension that can make ChatGPT the default search engine for Chrome.

In addition, OpenAI is looking to refine ChatGPT search for specific query types, such as shopping and travel, while exploring future integrations with its experimental SearchGPT model. According to Varun Shetty, OpenAI’s Head of Media Partnerships, the new capabilities are designed to “improve relevancy and decrease hallucinations by going out to the web.”

A New Era for AI-Powered Search?

This initial release of ChatGPT search represents OpenAI’s first big step into web search, with the potential to become a formidable alternative to traditional search engines. As OpenAI continues to refine the feature, it will be interesting to see how it stacks up against Google and how the AI-driven search landscape evolves.

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