After months of rumors, OpenAI has finally announced that it will be bringing a search engine to ChatGPT, with around 10,000 users reportedly testing the prototype.
I’m still on the waiting list myself. (If you’re not participating, you can join here.) However, using the example queries provided by OpenAI, and the “Search and Browse with Bing” feature included in OpenAI’s latest flagship model GPT-4o, I have been able to draw a picture about it. Some early conclusions on what that looks like. OpenAI did not respond to a request for comment.
As I learn more about SearchGPT, the key questions I’m exploring are: How is it different from Google (which owns 90% of the web’s search activity), and why do some people prefer to use ChatGPT to search the web instead?
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said in a March interview with podcaster Lex Fridman that his company was looking at the same issue. “Maybe there are better ways to help people find information, take action and synthesize information,” he said.
OpenAI plans to one day integrate these capabilities directly into its ChatGPT chatbot. Before that, based on my early research, there are five differences between SearchGPT and Google.
search results
One of the main differences between OpenAI and Google search is the results page.
When you query using SearchGPT, you’ll get a summary of the answer with links to the source of the information. The idea is to save time by responding more directly.
SearchGPT query example asks for the best tomatoes grown in Minnesota. The results list Early Girl, Celebrity, Roma, and Cherokee Purple, along with links to gardening resources that provide these recommendations.
When you run the same query using Google, you get an AI overview or a summary of the results produced by the AI, which is very similar to how SearchGPT works overall. But you also get the People Also Asked feature, which includes four suggested questions and some links. If this overview of artificial intelligence answered your question, you’re in luck. If not, you’ll have to do some scrolling.
OpenAI hopes to eliminate this scrolling.
“I think a lot of people are tired of going to multiple sites in the hope of actually finding something,” said Danny Goodwin, editorial director of SEO news site Search Engine Land. “It’s probably more contained within the SEO industry itself, but There are a lot of complaints about the quality of Google searches…it’s hard to find answers to what should be simple questions.”
advertise
Another big difference: SearchGPT is less likely to have ads. At least until now.
After all, SearchGPT will be open to ChatGPT Plus members, who pay $20 per month for unlimited access to GPT-4o models.
In the Friedman interview, Altman made it clear that he doesn’t like advertising.
“I love that people pay for ChatGPT and know that the answers they get are not influenced by advertisers,” he said. “I don’t like it when I use Twitter, Facebook, Google, or any of the other great but ad-supported products, and I think in the world of artificial intelligence, things are going to get worse, not better.”
Google loves ads. It has been serving ads since 2000 and earned $237.8 billion from advertising in 2023 alone.
context
OpenAI says it plans to eventually integrate search directly into its ChatGPT chatbot.
The result will be a more conversational experience where SearchGPT retains context to answer follow-up questions.
“Instead of typing a bunch of keywords or phrases into the search box, you can ask SearchGPT questions, just like you would ask a friend or a well-known expert to provide an answer or overview in the form of an ongoing conversation.” Mike Grehan ), CEO of digital marketing agency Chelsea Digital.
One of OpenAI’s example searches is “When can I see nudibranchs in Half Moon Bay this weekend?” SearchGPT provides images of sea slugs, also known as sea slugs, and the exact time of low tide each day. It cited the Pacific Beach Alliance and Tide Forecast as sources. The simulated user then asks, “Will it be hot?” SearchGPT knows that the query is looking for the weather forecast for Half Moon Bay, California.
If I ask Google, “What’s fun to do in New York next weekend?” and then, “Will it rain?” I get weather results for my current location.
hallucination
Both Google and SearchGPT have experienced hallucinations, which occur when chatbots deliver false or misleading messages.
You may recall that Google’s AI overview got off to a rocky start, no pun intended. But after downsizing and regrouping, we now see AI overviews in about 8% of Google searches.
SearchGPT has its own problems, even in its promotional materials. In the video of the OpenAI blog post, you can search for “Music Festival in Boone, North Carolina in August.” However, as The Atlantic points out, it gave the wrong dates for the Appalachian Summer Music Festival.
ChatGPT comes with the warning, “ChatGPT can make mistakes. Check for important information.” It’s unclear whether SearchGPT provides a similar warning.
Local search and e-commerce
Not all searches are informational. Sometimes we are looking for things to buy or places to go. This is where Google still has the advantage.
Google Shopping launched in 2002 as Froogle. (Yes, it’s true.) The search giant launched its first product focused on local businesses in 2005.
OpenAI said in a blog post that it will continue to improve in both areas.
When I search for “pizza near me” using ChatGPT, the chatbot says it requires a city or zip code. When I add my zip code it shows three real pizza places in my town. I don’t particularly like one of them, but they’re all there.
“Perhaps it’s better to think of SearchGPT as a concierge service and Google as a growing encyclopedia and atlas combined with a news bureau,” Grehan said.
