OpenAI gives ChatGPT its own search engine
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OpenAI has added a real-time search engine to ChatGPT, allowing the chatbot to deliver better responses to prompts about sports, news and weather.
Why it matters: The move puts OpenAI more directly in competition with Google's core business, as well as with OpenAI partner Microsoft — whose Bing search engine is the distant No. 2 in the search business.
How it works: The new search tool is built directly into ChatGPT.com, as well as the mobile and desktop ChatGPT apps.
- It will be available starting today for paid ChatGPT Plus and Team users starting Thursday. Paid enterprise and educational subscribers will gain access in the next few weeks, and all free users will get it in coming months.
Users can choose to query the search engine directly by clicking on a globe icon.
- Also, ChatGPT itself will route queries to the search engine that it determines could benefit from real-time information.
- The results look like other ChatGPT responses, but can include new types of results — including maps, stock charts and additional images.
The intrigue: OpenAI isn't serving ads in its search results, and said it has no current plans to do so.
- Search advertising is a highly lucrative business, with countless advertisers willing to pay to show up in results, especially in categories like travel and healthcare.
Between the lines: OpenAI says it has a number of partners in its search efforts, including Microsoft.
- News queries include results from companies that have partnered with OpenAI — such as Axel Springer, Vox Media and The Associated Press — as well as other publishers who have not otherwise opted out of having their content crawled by OpenAI.
Flashback: OpenAI said in July that it was testing SearchGPT as a separate experience, with a goal of folding the resulting product back into its main chatbot.
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