Microsoft-backed OpenAI has announced the launch of SearchGPT, an innovative AI-powered search engine that is set to take on Google in the multi-billion dollar search market.
The creator of ChatGPT unveiled the prototype Thursday night, showing off his blend of conversational AI with real-time internet data.
California-based OpenAI has opened registration for SearchGPT, which is currently being tested with a select group of users and publishers. “Getting answers on the web can be a lot of work, often requiring multiple attempts to get relevant results,” the company said. “We believe that by augmenting the conversational capabilities of our models with real-time information from the web, finding what you’re looking for can be faster and easier.”
Google, owned by Alphabet, controls more than 90% of the global search engine market and generates significant revenue from advertising. Alphabet reported an 11% increase in ad sales, to $64.6 billion, in the second quarter of the year.
Unlike existing ChatGPT, SearchGPT delivers responses with clear, embedded attributions and links, allowing users to easily verify sources and interact with additional results via a sidebar.
Since ChatGPT launched in November 2022, backed by a $13 billion investment from Microsoft, OpenAI has been seen as a formidable competitor by Alphabet investors, potentially threatening Google’s market share.
Google is also working to enhance its search capabilities with AI. Its generative AI model, Gemini, has been integrated into the search engine through a feature called AI Overviews, which launched in the US in May. The feature provides users with quick overviews of topics and links to further learning.
With OpenAI entering the search engine arena with SearchGPT, the internet search landscape is expected to undergo a major transformation.
