Will You Use OpenAI’s New Google Search Competitor?
By Movieguide® Contributor
Google’s search monopoly may have a new competitor now that OpenAI’s launched its own search engine, SearchGPT.
“ChatGPT search offers up-to-the-minute sports scores, stock quotes, news, weather and more, powered by real-time web search and partnerships with news and data providers, according to the company,” CNBC reported Oct. 31. “It began beta-testing the search engine, called SearchGPT, in July.”
“The release could have implications for Google as the dominant search engine,” CNBC adds. “Since the launch of ChatGPT in November 2022, Alphabet investors have been concerned that OpenAI could take market share from Google in search by giving consumers new ways to seek information online.”
Alphabet’s shares dropped approximately 1% after OpenAI announced the news.
In a demo, ChatGPT search lead, Adam Fry, displayed the search feature by looking for Apple stock news. The search displayed an interactive graph, upcoming earnings news and articles with links to sources. There’s also a sidebar that displays relevant websites.
OpenAI will also contest with Microsoft, even though Microsoft invested $14 billion into it. OpenAI’s products “directly compete” with Microsoft products Bing and Copilot.
“In a Reddit AMA Thursday, OpenAI’s engineering VP, Srinivas Narayanan, answered a user question about whether ChatGPT search used Bing as the search engine behind the scenes, writing, ‘We use a set of services and Bing is an important one,’” CNBC said
“OpenAI CEO Sam Altman wrote Thursday in a post on X that search is his ‘favorite feature we have launched’ in ChatGPT since the chatbot’s original debut,” CNBC reported.
OpenAI’s search differs from Google’s or Bing’s in that it’s “more natural,” “intuitive” and conversational.
Altman added, “I find it to be a way faster/easier way to get the information I’m looking for. I think we’ll see this especially for queries that require more complex research. I also look forward to a future where a search query can dynamically render a custom web page in response!”
As part of the program, “chats now include links to sources, such as news articles and blog posts, giving you a way to learn more,” OpenAI says.
OpenAI, creator of ChatGPT, has released an updated model of its already impressive AI program that will be even more intelligent than before…
READ MORE: OPENAI’S LATEST UPDATE PROMISES EVEN MORE INTELLIGENT AI
The company plans to improve the model in the areas of shopping and travel.
“ChatGPT will ‘automatically search the web based on what you ask,’ according to an OpenAI blog post,” CNBC said. “Users can manually click the web search icon within ChatGPT to search if they choose.”
“Chats now include links to sources like articles or blog posts, which users can access by clicking the ‘Sources’ button below the response to open a sidebar,” CNBC said. “OpenAI said it collaborated with its news partners, including The Associated Press, Reuters, Axel Springer, Condé Nast, Hearst, Dotdash Meredith, the Financial Times, News Corp., Le Monde, The Atlantic, Time and Vox Media.”
ChatGPT Plus, SearchGPT’s waitlist members and Team users can already access the program. ChatGPT Enterprise and Edu users can get access in the coming weeks, and all users of ChatGPT’s free version will have access in a few months.
“OpenAI closed its latest funding round earlier this month at a valuation of $157 billion, including the $6.6 billion the company raised from an extensive roster of investment firms and Big Tech companies,” CNBC said. “It also received a $4 billion revolving line of credit, bringing its total liquidity to more than $10 billion. OpenAI expects about $5 billion in losses on $3.7 billion in revenue this year, CNBC confirmed in September with a person familiar with the situation.”
“OpenAI has in recent months experienced some controversy around its upcoming transition to a for-profit structure, as well as a string of executive departures. Jan Leike, a former safety team leader at the company, wrote on X while resigning that ‘safety culture and processes have taken a backseat to shiny products’ at the company,” CNBC notes.
