OpenAI’s SearchGPT Revolutionizes AI-powered Search: Competing with Google and Perplexity

OpenAI has entered a domain traditionally controlled by Google by introducing SearchGPT, an AI-driven search engine that offers real-time access to internet information. This step positions the AI powerhouse in competition with its main supporter Microsoft’s Bing search and emerging players like Perplexity, a search-focused AI chatbot firm endorsed by Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and Nvidia. OpenAI has initiated sign-ups for the new tool, currently in the prototype phase and undergoing testing with a select group of users and publishers. The company plans to incorporate top features from the search tool into ChatGPT in the future. “AI-powered search tools from OpenAI and Perplexity reinforce search as a content engagement model, pushing Google to elevate its performance,” noted analyst Kingsley Crane from Canaccord Genuity. Google leads the search engine market with a 91.1% share, as reported by web analytics firm Statcounter. SearchGPT aims to deliver concise search results with source links in response to user queries, as stated by OpenAI in a blog post. Users will have the ability to pose follow-up questions and receive contextual responses. Publishers will be granted tools to manage how their content appears in SearchGPT results, with News Corp and The Atlantic serving as publishing partners for SearchGPT. Crane mentioned that newer AI-driven search providers may encounter obstacles, with Perplexity already confronting legal challenges from publishers such as Wired, Forbes, and Conde Nast.