(OpenAI)
OpenAI is taking on Google by introducing its own search engine.
SearchGPT is rolling out now as a prototype to a small group of users ahead of a wider launch. Expect it to harness ChatGPT tech for a search engine experience that promises to rival Google.
“We believe that by enhancing the conversational capabilities of our models with real-time information from the web, finding what you’re looking for can be faster and easier,” the company wrote in a blog post. In a tweet, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman added: "We think there is room to make search much better than it is today."
That said, it remains unclear if SearchGPT will be a dedicated product over its own domain. For now, OpenAI says: "While this prototype is temporary, we plan to integrate the best of these features directly into ChatGPT in the future."
Although ChatGPT’s data is limited to information up to December 2023, SearchGPT is designed to access “up-to-date information from the web while giving you clear links to relevant sources,” OpenAI says.
But it doesn’t look like SearchGPT will operate as a typical search engine focused on directing you to links to third-party websites. Instead, it will summarize the answer to your question and include a link to the source material.
(Credit: OpenAI)To see a more traditional search engine page that primarily shows links to third-party sites, a sidebar will be populated with source links. There are also no ads, at least not yet, to the interface looks cleaner than a typical search results page.
(Credit: OpenAI)But like ChatGPT itself, SearchGPT has already been spotted making errors. In the company’s demo, OpenAI asks the program to search for music festivals in Boone, North Carolina, for August. The top result from SearchGPT says the Appalachian Summer Festival is scheduled for July 29 to Aug. 16, but the festival really runs from June 29 to July 27.
In the meantime, SearchGPT has a waitlist for users interested in trying it out. The company is also working with publishers to help develop the search experience.
“Importantly, SearchGPT is about search and is separate from training OpenAI’s generative AI foundation models. Sites can be surfaced in search results even if they opt out of generative AI training,” the company added.