OpenAI search engine is now available on ChatGPT

ChatGPT is a web search engine powered by AI. The company is enabling real-time chat information for paid subscribers today (as well as users on SearchGPT’s waiting list), with free, business and educational users getting access in the coming weeks.

Rather than launching as a standalone product, web search will be integrated into ChatGPT’s existing interface. The feature determines when to get web results based on queries, even if users can search on their own. ChatGPT’s web search integration is finally closing the competitive gap with competitors like Microsoft Copilot and Google Gemini, which have long offered real-time online access to their AI chats.

In a pre-announcement presentation, OpenAI’s ChatGPT research lead, Adam Fry, demonstrated the feature by searching for Apple stock and any related news. On the other hand, it showed an interactive stock graph, upcoming earnings information, and news articles with quotes related to primary sources. There is also a website that allows users to browse a list of relevant websites. In one example, Fry searched for Italian restaurants in San Francisco, which returned an interactive map that dropped pints of recommended restaurants. In both examples, Fry asked follow-up questions to improve results (like finding “more casual and neighborhood-y” restaurants).

The new search functionality will be available on all ChatGPT platforms: iOS, Android, and desktop devices for macOS and Windows. The search engine is powered by “a combination of search technologies,” including Microsoft’s Bing, Fry said. The company wrote in a blog post on Thursday that the underlying search engine is a modified version of GPT-4o. It was released to 10,000 test users as a prototype called SearchGPT in July, and we reported back in May that OpenAI was actively trying to poach Google employees for its research team.

Prior to this update, ChatGPT knowledge was limited to being discontinued between 2021 and 2023 depending on the model. OpenAI spokesman Niko Felix said that while the search is ongoing, the company will continue to update its training material to “ensure that our users are always up to date with the latest developments.” ” but it is “different” from company model training.

The announcement comes as AI-driven search continues to grow across tech giants. Meta is reportedly developing its own AI search solution, while Google recently expanded its AI analytics division to more than 100 countries. When asked around the time of Alphabet’s earnings call on Tuesday (at show that Q3 research revenue came in at $49.4 billion), Fry kept the release scheduled independently.

That’s one clear reason why a user would choose ChatGPT over Google Search: no clutter of ads or suggested queries at the top. When Google does a lot of revenue from advertising in search results, Fry said there are currently “no plans” for advertising on ChatGPT. However, AI-powered search is more expensive than traditional search, and it is not yet clear how OpenAI will support it for free users. Felix said free users will have “certain limits on how often they can use our latest search features.”

Many AI search services have also faced lawsuits. News Corp and New York Times have filed a lawsuit against AI-powered Perplexity, which it previously accused of “substantial liberties” and copyright infringement “on a large scale.” New York Times has also sued OpenAI for allegedly using the media company’s assets to train its large language models. When asked how OpenAI will avoid further scrutiny, Fry pointed to the company’s content partnership. (At the stageThe parent company, Vox Media, has a partnership with OpenAI.)

“We’re working very closely with all of those partners to understand how to use content responsibly and help generate better results for our publisher partners,” Fry said, adding that the publisher though which you can access from the OpenAI website. creeper He said that the web browser cannot bypass paywalls.

OpenAI has received a string of media deals over the past year, including big names like Hearst, Condé Nast, Axel Springer, and News Corp. While Fry said those partners will get more “control” over how their content appears on ChatGPT, they won’t be prioritized in questions.

In terms of visuals — like Google’s AI Overviews infamously telling users to put glue on their pizza — Fry believes ChatGPT’s research will “increase realism in general.”

“Some visions are caused by not getting the latest information. And now that it’s able to get the latest information, it really helps make better decisions about what the real answer is, Fry said. When pressed on the fact that bad cases exist and that mistakes are inevitable, he said “we will try to be transparent” if it goes up.

ChatGPT’s online search also starts a few days before the US presidential election, which makes its need for accuracy more important than ever. Fry said that “we hope” that with this tool “we can promote the sources that have the power to find the information of the votes” and that the company pays “special attention” to the questions of the votes.