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OpenAI has launched ChatGPT’s ability to search the web, introducing a potential threat to Google’s (GOOGL0.00%) search dominance.
ChatGPT search provides links to relevant web sources in its responses, “which you would have previously needed to go to a search engine for,” OpenAI said. With web search on ChatGPT, users can ask questions “in a more natural, conversation way.”
The feature, which either ChatGPT can “choose” to use based on a query or can be manually chosen by a user, “blends the benefits of a natural language interface with the value of up-to-date sports scores, news, stock quotes, and more,” OpenAI said.
ChatGPT “will consider the full context of” its chat with a user to determine if it will search the web for a response, OpenAI said, adding that it has news and data partners to provide the up-to-date information. User chats now have links to articles, blog posts, and other sources so that users can see references for ChatGPT’s responses.
SearchGPT waitlist members as well as ChatGPT Plus and Team users have access to search starting on Thursday. ChatGPT Enterprise and Edu users will get search access over the next weeks, and Free users will get access in the coming months, the company said. The feature will be available on the ChatGPT website, as well as through the desktop and mobile apps.
ChatGPT search “is a fine-tuned version” of the company’s GPT-4o model, it said.
In July, OpenAI said it was testing SearchGPT, a temporary prototype of artificial intelligence-powered search features it planned to integrate with ChatGPT. The prototype was launched to a small group of testers and publishers for feedback. OpenAI has signed a number of licensing deals with news publishers, including the Associated Press and Condé Nast, to train its AI models on news content.
“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,” OpenAI said in a blog post at the time.
ChatGPT search could have implications for search-engine dominant Google, which has infused AI into its search abilities.
Earlier this week, Google said its AI Overview search feature will now reach over 1 billion users each month after rolling out to more than 100 new countries and territories. Google chief executive Sundar Pichai said AI Overview is seeing stronger engagement, and users are asking “longer and more complex questions.” Integrating ads into AI Overview is also driving connections between consumers and businesses, he said.