Going after Google’s core business, OpenAI has unveiled SearchGPT, a new prototype search engine designed to streamline user searches by leveraging generative AI to provide conversational answers and gather relevant links.
This move marks OpenAI’s latest effort to enter the lucrative search market, which is traditionally dominated by Google.
While OpenAI has kept many details under wraps, it confirmed that SearchGPT aims to integrate broader web searches with data from publishers who have entered into agreements with the company, as reported by Reuters.
The development of SearchGPT follows Microsoft’s lead, which, as an OpenAI investor, launched an AI-powered Bing search engine in 2023. This search engine uses OpenAI’s large language models and has since been rebranded as Copilot.
Since then, several competitors, including Google and Perplexity, have released their AI search tools.
Google, for instance, introduced AI Overviews, which generate summaries of articles at the top of news results. However, this feature has faced reliability issues, such as bizarre recommendations like adding glue to pizza.
SearchGPT’s design is similar to Perplexity’s approach, offering a chatbot that lists relevant links and allows for follow-up questions. This method could address some limitations of current AI models, which often rely on outdated training data and sometimes fabricate information when unsure of an answer.
OpenAI plans to use retrieval augmented generation (RAG), a standard in AI search, to enhance reliability. RAG reduces the likelihood of AI “hallucinations” by referencing trusted sources and linking to the original data.
A significant aspect of SearchGPT is its commitment to publishers. OpenAI has secured licensing agreements with several media companies, including Vox Media, The Atlantic, News Corp., and the Financial Times. This ensures that publishers are prominently cited and linked in search results.
Despite ChatGPT’s success, OpenAI is exploring new revenue streams to offset the substantial costs associated with training larger AI models and expanding its staff. A report by The Information suggests that OpenAI might face losses of up to $5 billion this year.
Entering the web search market could provide a new revenue source and help OpenAI compete with Google, which has developed its own ChatGPT competitor, Gemini, and is integrating similar technology into various commercial offerings.
The transition from developing artificial general intelligence to more commercial ventures presents challenges.
OpenAI’s SearchGPT represents a bold step into the search engine market, leveraging generative AI to provide more efficient and user-friendly search experiences. While the company faces challenges, including stiff competition and the need for reliable data sources, its commitment to working with publishers and its innovative use of AI technologies could position SearchGPT as a formidable competitor in the search engine landscape.
