Google vs. OpenAI: The AI Search Engine Battle Begins

OpenAI has recently unveiled its most ambitious challenge to date for established tech giants: a new search engine called SearchGPT. This innovative tool integrates artificial intelligence directly into the search process from the start.

Currently in an early testing phase for select users, SearchGPT combines OpenAI’s advanced AI capabilities with real-time web data, allowing users to search similarly to how they interact with ChatGPT. OpenAI plans to incorporate this feature into ChatGPT in the future.

This new development positions OpenAI against Google, which has long dominated the online search landscape but has struggled to keep up with the AI advancements initiated by OpenAI with the launch of ChatGPT in November 2022. Additionally, SearchGPT could also challenge Microsoft’s Bing, which has previously integrated OpenAI’s technology to compete more effectively with Google.

SearchGPT allows users to ask questions in natural language, just as they would with ChatGPT, and provides up-to-date answers with links to what OpenAI describes as “clear and relevant sources.” Unlike ChatGPT, which sometimes relies on outdated data, SearchGPT ensures users receive the latest information.

For instance, in a demo, SearchGPT answered a question about “the best tomatoes to grow in Minnesota” with detailed information and links to relevant sites like “The Garden Magazine” and “The Gardening Dad.”

The tool features a sidebar with additional links, similar to the familiar search results pages seen on Google. According to OpenAI, this approach aims to make finding accurate information faster and easier by leveraging conversational AI.

SearchGPT could potentially establish generative AI—technology capable of creating original text and other media—as the future standard for online search. This follows Google's May rollout of AI-generated summaries that initially provided incorrect or nonsensical information and raised concerns among news publishers about reduced web traffic due to decreased site visits.

OpenAI, however, has addressed these concerns by partnering with publishers, offering them options to manage their visibility in SearchGPT results, and ensuring that sites can still be featured even if they opt out of contributing content for training the AI models.