All signs are pointing to a new search feature being added to ChatGPT soon, but the exact launch date is still up in the air.
According to a report by Bloomberg, OpenAI is developing a capability for ChatGPT that allows the AI to perform web searches and provide answers with citations from reliable sources like Wikipedia entries and blog posts. This development would also incorporate images in responses where relevant. For example, if someone asks how to change a doorknob, ChatGPT could potentially show a diagram to aid in explaining the process.
Furthermore, according to the Verge, OpenAI has been actively recruiting Google employees to join the team dedicated to this project, suggesting a determined effort to launch this new feature promptly.
Why this matters
The realm of search engines is evolving rapidly with the advent of generative AI technologies, and it seems OpenAI is leading the race in several aspects, though not yet in search capabilities. Despite ChatGPT's smaller user base compared to Google, users, advertisers, and competitors are growing frustrated with Google's search engine—from the quality of its search results to its heavy ad load and alleged monopolistic practices.
ChatGPT does not intend to mimic Google's search engine model, particularly its reliance on advertising. Earlier this year, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman expressed his views, stating, “I don't think the world needs another copy of Google.” Instead, Altman envisions a new kind of integrated search that combines the conversational abilities of ChatGPT with traditional web searching techniques. “We are interested in how to do that well. It would be an example of a cool thing that no one has cracked the code on yet. I would love to go do that. I think that would be cool,” said Altman.
Additional developments and insights
The rumours about OpenAI's search product first surfaced in February. Since then, there have been a few notable developments:
- ChatGPT has started making links more prominent for its ChatGPT Plus subscribers.
- In August, OpenAI launched its web crawler, GPTBot.
- Search Engine Roundtable's Barry Schwartz reported that the domain search.chatgpt.com has been spotted in server log files.
Is ChatGPT the Google Search killer we've been waiting for? Only time will tell, but the competition is certainly heating up.
