OpenAI Tests Search Engine Prototype Called ‘SearchGPT’

OpenAI has this week unveiled a prototype AI search tool that could in the years ahead pose a challenge to Google’s search engine domination.

On Thursday OpenAI announced it is “testing SearchGPT, a temporary prototype of new AI search features that give you fast and timely answers with clear and relevant sources.”

It was in May this year that it had been first reported that OpenAI was soon to announce its artificial intelligence-powered search product, thought to be an extension of its flagship ChatGPT product.

OpenAI’s SearchGPT

Now two months later OpenAI has confirmed it is “testing SearchGPT, a prototype of new search features designed to combine the strength of our AI models with information from the web to give you fast and timely answers with clear and relevant sources.”

OpenAI said it was launching SearchGPT “to a small group of users and publishers to get feedback.”

It noted that while this prototype is temporary, it does plan to integrate the best of these features directly into ChatGPT in the future.

OpenAI said that unlike a traditional search engine, “SearchGPT will quickly and directly respond to your questions with up-to-date information from the web while giving you clear links to relevant sources.”

Users will be able to ask follow-up questions, like they would in a conversation with a person, with the shared context building with each query.

OpenAI said it is committed to a thriving ecosystem of publishers and creators.

“AI search is going to become one of the key ways that people navigate the internet, and it’s crucial, in these early days, that the technology is built in a way that values, respects, and protects journalism and publishers,” said Nicholas Thompson, CEO of The Atlantic. “We look forward to partnering with OpenAI in the process, and creating a new way for readers to discover The Atlantic.”

According to OpenAI, SearchGPT is designed to help users connect with publishers by prominently citing and linking to them in searches. Responses have clear, in-line, named attribution and links so users know where information is coming from and can quickly engage with even more results in a sidebar with source links.

OpenAI said that besides partnering with publishers to build this experience and seek feedback, it is also launching a way for publishers to manage how they appear in SearchGPT, so publishers have more choices.

“Sam and the truly talented team at OpenAI innately understand that for AI-powered search to be effective, it must be founded on the highest-quality, most reliable information furnished by trusted sources,” said Robert Thomson, chief executive at News Corp. “For the heavens to be in equilibrium, the relationship between technology and content must be symbiotic and provenance must be protected.”

Interested parties and publishers can apply here to experiment with SearchGPT.

AI search

The move is an interesting one for OpenAI, as not only does it pose a challenge to Google, but also to one of its principle financial backers Microsoft, with its Bing search engine.

Microsoft of course has already opened access to its AI enhanced Bing search engine, to all users, after it had announced in early 2023 that it was bundling AI capabilities into both its Bing search engine and Edge browser.

And it is not just Bing offering AI search capabilities.

Perplexity for example is a well-funded AI search startup. Offering a search-focused AI chatbot. The firm is backed by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and GPU giant Nvidia.

It should be noted that Google has not not sitting on its hands with AI-powered search.

In April Google began testing AI-powered search summaries for selected, signed-in users in the UK, nearly a year after it began trialling the feature in the US.