The San Francisco-based technology firm augmented its ChatGPT generative AI chatbot with search capabilities in late October, initially restricting this feature to paid subscribers.
This newly available functionality allows users to obtain “fast, timely answers” along with links to pertinent web sources, which previously necessitated the use of a conventional search engine, according to the company.
The ChatGPT update integrates real-time internet data retrieval capabilities. OpenAI's Chief Product Officer, Kevin Weil, announced in a YouTube video that this search functionality will be available to all logged-in, free ChatGPT users globally across all platforms.
Demonstrations of the new interface by OpenAI showed results that resembled those from Google and Google Maps, but without the presence of advertisements.
The user interface exhibits similarities to Perplexity, a competing AI-powered search engine distinguished by its conversational search paradigm and transparent sourcing.
Adam Fry, Product Lead for ChatGPT Search, stated in a video announcement that the new feature enhances the familiar ChatGPT experience by integrating current web data. Deployment to hundreds of millions of users commences immediately.
Instead of launching a separate product, OpenAI has seamlessly integrated the search functionality into ChatGPT.
Users can choose to enable the search feature by default or activate it manually through a web search icon.
Initial releases of AI chatbots, such as ChatGPT and Anthropic's Claude, exhibited limitations due to temporal data cutoffs, resulting in outdated responses. Conversely, Google and Microsoft integrate AI-generated content with live web search results.
The integration of online search capabilities into ChatGPT will likely intensify scrutiny of OpenAI's relationship with Microsoft, a significant investor and competitor to Google in the search engine market.
Sam Altman, OpenAI's CEO, has strategically positioned the company for significant growth and dominance within the internet landscape.
This strategic positioning culminated in a recent funding round, securing a remarkable $157 billion valuation with participation from prominent investors including Microsoft, SoftBank (Tokyo), and Nvidia.
The incorporation of search engine functionalities to attract new users will necessitate a substantial and corresponding increase in the company's considerable computational resources and associated expenses.