On Monday, OpenAI announced that it is expanding its threat to Google’s dominance by making ChatGPT-powered internet search accessible to all users.
In late October, the San Francisco-based technology company enhanced its ChatGPT generative AI chatbot with search engine capabilities. However, the feature was restricted to paying subscribers.
The company stated that the newly public feature allows users to receive “fast, timely answers” with links to relevant web sources, which was previously necessary to obtain information using a traditional search engine.
By upgrading to ChatGPT, the AI chatbot is capable of delivering real-time information from various websites over the internet.
Kevin Weil, the chief product officer of OpenAI, stated in a video that was published on YouTube, “We are introducing search functionality to all logged-in, free users of ChatGPT.”
“That implies that it will be accessible on all platforms where ChatGPT is utilized worldwide.” Examples of the new interface that OpenAI demonstrated were similar to the search results provided by Google and Google Maps, but without the congestion of advertising.
Additionally, they resembled the interface of Perplexity, an AI-powered search engine that provides a more conversational experience than Google by highlighting the sources cited in the response.
Adam Fry, the product manager for ChatGPT Search, stated in the video, “We are essentially enhancing the ChatGPT experience that you are already familiar with by incorporating the most recent information from the web.”
“We will release this to hundreds of millions of users beginning today.” OpenAI has incorporated search directly into ChatGPT, rather than launching a separate product.
The search feature can be activated manually through a web search icon or by default.
The answers provided by AI chatbots such as ChatGPT or Anthropic’s Claude have been outdated due to time constraints that have existed since their debut.
Conversely, Google and Microsoft integrate AI-generated responses with web results.
The integration of online search into ChatGPT will exacerbate inquiries regarding the startup’s affiliation with Microsoft, a significant OpenAI investor. Microsoft is also endeavoring to broaden the reach of its Bing search engine in opposition to Google.
Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, has established his organization as a dominant force in the internet industry.
In a recent fundraising round that included Microsoft, Tokyo-based conglomerate SoftBank, and AI chipmaker Nvidia, he effectively propelled the company to an astronomical $157 billion valuation.
New consumers will be attracted to the company’s search engine capabilities, which will result in a significant increase in computing requirements and expenses.
