On Thursday, OpenAI announced a significant development in the field of artificial intelligence by introducing its new search engine prototype, SearchGPT, designed to compete with Google’s market-leading search engine.
The startup, known for its groundbreaking ChatGPT, is testing SearchGPT to harness the power of its AI models combined with real-time information from the web. This initiative aims to answer online queries swiftly and accurately while providing relevant sources.
In a blog post, OpenAI revealed that SearchGPT is currently available to a select group of users and publishers for feedback. The insights gathered from this trial phase will be used to refine the search features, which will eventually be integrated into ChatGPT.
According to the San Francisco-based company, users will engage with SearchGPT through conversational queries and can ask follow-up questions, mimicking a human-like interaction.
This move comes as Google has recently enhanced its search engine with AI-generated query result summaries, known as “Overviews.”
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These summaries present written text at the top of search results, aiming to answer user queries directly before listing traditional links to websites. This shift has raised concerns about the potential impact on advertising revenue, as fewer ads might be served if users find answers directly in the summaries.
OpenAI’s SearchGPT seems to offer a similar feature to Google’s Overviews, focusing on providing comprehensive and conversational answers to user queries.
Since the debut of ChatGPT in late 2022, the AI industry has been in a fierce competition to develop generative AI tools capable of producing text, images, and other content based on everyday language prompts.
Google’s chief executive, Sundar Pichai, highlighted the company’s ongoing innovations in AI during a recent earnings call for Alphabet, Google’s parent company. He emphasized that Google is advancing at every level of the AI stack, which underscores the competitive landscape OpenAI is entering.
In its blog post, OpenAI mentioned that it is collaborating with various publishers to refine SearchGPT, ensuring it is developed in a way that supports and respects journalism and content creators.
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Nicholas Thompson, CEO of The Atlantic, echoed this sentiment, stating that AI search will become a fundamental way people navigate the internet. He emphasized the importance of building this technology to value and protect journalism and publishers, and expressed enthusiasm about partnering with OpenAI.
To involve more users in this innovative project, OpenAI has invited individuals to join a waitlist to try out SearchGPT. This new development marks a pivotal moment in AI technology, as companies continue to explore and expand the capabilities of generative AI in everyday applications.