The OpenAI vs. Google competition is finally here.
Company on Thursday fired ChatGPT Search, an evolution of the SearchGPT prototype unveiled this summer. ChatGPT Search built into OpenAI’s ChatGPT platform is designed to provide “quick answers” to questions, OpenAI says, drawing from a range of online sources.
ChatGPT Search, powered by an enhanced version of OpenAI’s GPT-4o model, displays information and images from the web – such as sports scores, news, stock quotes and more – along with links to relevant sources where you can ask follow-up questions to refine your ongoing search .
ChatGPT will choose to search the Internet based on what you request, or you can manually select a search by clicking the fresh Internet Search icon.
Replies are attributed both inline and in the sidebar to news publishers and other data sources with which OpenAI has licensing agreements. For example, a search for weekend events in San Francisco might bring up a roundup from local news outlets, while another question asking for restaurant suggestions might bring up a list of local options.
Election-related queries will be directed to sources such as AP and Reuters, OpenAI says.
ChatGPT Plus and Team users will initially have access to ChatGPT Search on mobile devices and the web, while OpenAI enterprise and education customers will receive ChatGPT Search in the coming weeks, with users able to utilize it for free thereafter.
OpenAI says it plans to continue to improve search, particularly in areas like shopping and travel, and utilize its o1 “reasoning” models for “deeper exploration.” The company also plans to make the ChatGPT search engine available in advanced voice mode for non-logged in ChatGPT users.
Some publishers protest against AI-generated reviews such as ChatGPT search and Google’s AI reviews, saying they threaten to cannibalize traffic to the sites they get their information from. One study found that AI reviews can negatively impacting approximately 25% of publisher traffic due to decreased emphasis on article links.
OpenAI says it has taken into account feedback from publisher partners on how the ChatGPT search engine decides which articles are most relevant to a query, as well as determines the length of article summaries and citations.