OpenAI to unveil its AI search engine

OpenAI is launching SearchGPT, an AI-driven search engine that provides real-time internet information.

The search engine begins with a large textbox asking, ‘What are you looking for?” Instead of merely listing links, SearchGPT organises and interprets them. For instance, OpenAI demonstrated how it summarises information on music festivals and then provides brief descriptions of the events with attribution links.

However, according to reports, the search engine is currently a ‘prototype,’ powered by the GPT-4 model family, and will initially be available to 10,000 test users. Additionally, OpenAI could be working with third-party partners and using direct content feeds to build its search results. The goal is to eventually integrate the search features directly into ChatGPT.

In a blog post announcing the launch of SearchGPT, the company highlighted its development in partnership with various news organizations, including the owners of The Wall Street Journal, The Associated Press, and Vox Media. Publishers will also have the ability to “manage how they appear in OpenAI search features,” the company stated.

“SearchGPT is designed to connect users with publishers by prominently citing and linking to them in searches,” according to the blog post. “Responses provide clear, in-line attribution and links so users know the information source and can quickly access more results in a sidebar with source links”, it added. 

Launching its search engine as a prototype benefits OpenAI in several ways. Firstly, if SearchGPT’s results are highly inaccurate—similar to Google’s AI Overviews suggesting glue on pizza—they can simply attribute it to being a prototype. Additionally, SearchGPT will be free at its initial launch, and since it currently has no ads, the company will need to determine a monetization strategy soon.