After rumors swirled for months, OpenAI finally announced that it will bring a search engine to ChatGPT, and around 10,000 users are said to be testing the prototype.
I’m still on the waiting list myself. (If you’re not into it too, you can join here .) But using the sample queries provided by OpenAI, plus the Browse with Bing search functionality that came with OpenAI’s latest flagship model, GPT-4o, I’ve been able to draw some early conclusions about what it is like. OpenAI did not respond to a request for comment.
As I’ve learned more about SearchGPT, the main question I’m exploring is this: How will it be different from Google — which owns 90% of the Internet’s search activity — and why would anyone prefer to search the web using ChatGPT instead?
In a March interview with podcaster Lex Fridman, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said his company is focused on the same question. “Maybe there’s a much better way to help people find and act on and synthesize information,” he said.
OpenAI plans to integrate these features directly into its ChatGPT chatbot one day. Until then, based on my early research, here are five ways SearchGPT stands apart from Google.
Search results
One of the main differences between OpenAI and Google search is the results page.
When you ask a question with SearchGPT, you get a summary of the answer with links to information sources. The idea is to save time with more direct answers.
A sample SearchGPT query searches for the best tomatoes to grow in Minnesota. The results mention Early Girl, Celebrity, Roma and Cherokee Purple, along with links to gardening resources that make those recommendations.
When you ask the same question with Google, you get an AI Summary or a summary of AI-generated results, which is a pretty good parallel to what SearchGPT is doing in general. But you also get the People Ask feature too with four suggested questions and then some links. If AI Summary answers your question, you’re in luck. If not, you’ll have to make some moves.
It’s that move that OpenAI hopes to eliminate.
“I feel like a lot of people are tired of going to multiple websites in the hope that they actually find something,” said Danny Goodwin, editorial director of SEO news site Search Engine Land. “It may be more involved in the SEO industry itself, but there have been many complaints about the quality of Google search … it is very difficult to find answers to simple questions.”
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Another big difference: SearchGPT is likely ad-free. At least for now.
Ultimately, SearchGPT will be available to ChatGPT Plus members, who pay $20 per month for unlimited access to the GPT-4o model.
In the Fridman interview, Altman made it clear that he doesn’t like advertising.
“I like that people pay for ChatGPT and know that the responses they’re getting are not influenced by advertisers,” he said. “When I go to use Twitter or Facebook or Google or some other great but ad-supported product, I don’t like that and I think it gets worse, not better, in an AI world.”
Google loves ads. It has been serving ads since 2000 — and will earn $237.8 billion from ads in 2023 alone.
context
OpenAI said it plans to eventually integrate search directly into its ChatGPT chatbot.
The result will be a more conversational experience in which SearchGPT maintains the context to answer follow-up questions.
“Instead of typing a set of keywords or phrases into a search box, you’ll ask SearchGPT questions the same way you’d ask a friend or a known expert to provide answers or insights in the form of a dialog continuous,” he said. Mike Grehan, CEO of digital marketing agency Chelsea Digital.
One of OpenAI’s champion searches is, “When can I see nudibranchs in Half Moon Bay this weekend?” SearchGPT provides images of nudibranchs, also known as sea slugs, as well as the exact time of low tide each day. He cites the Pacific Beach Coalition and Tide Forecast as sources. And then the mocking user asks: “Will it be hot?” and SearchGPT knows that this query is looking for a weather forecast for Half Moon Bay, California.
If I ask Google, “What should you do in New York next weekend?” and then, “Is it going to rain?” Get weather results for my current location.
Hallucinations
Both Google and SearchGPT have experienced hallucinations, which occur when a chatbot provides false or misleading information.
You may recall that Google’s AI Roundups had a rough start, no pun intended. But after trimming and regrouping, we now see AI Summary in about 8% of Google searches.
SearchGPT has had its share of setbacks, even in promotional materials. In a video on the OpenAI blog post, there is a search for “musical celebrations in Boone North Carolina in August”. However, as The Atlantic pointed out, he gave the wrong dates for the Appalachian Summer Festival.
ChatGPT comes with the warning, “ChatGPT can make mistakes. Check important information.” It was not immediately clear whether SearchGPT offers a similar warning.
Local search and e-commerce
Not all research is informative. Sometimes we are looking for things to buy or places to go. This is where Google still has an advantage.
Google Shopping was launched in 2002 as Froogle. (Yes, really.) And the search giant released its first product focused on local businesses in 2005. It’s well-placed in both.
In the blog post, OpenAI said it will continue to improve in both of these areas.
When I used ChatGPT to search for “pizza near me,” the chatbot said it needed a city or zip code. When I added my zip code, it came up with three real pizza places in my town. I don’t particularly like one of them, but they all exist.
“Perhaps it’s best to think of SearchGPT as a concierge-style service and Google as an ever-growing encyclopedia,” Grehan said.