OpenAI has entered the competitive search engine market, traditionally dominated by Google, with the introduction of SearchGPT, a search engine powered by artificial intelligence with real-time internet access. This strategic move, announced on Thursday, also positions OpenAI against Microsoft’s Bing and emerging AI search services like Perplexity, backed by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Nvidia.
Following OpenAI’s announcement, Alphabet, Google’s parent company, saw its shares drop by 3%, highlighting market concerns over the potential impact of this new competitor.
SearchGPT is currently in its prototype stage, with sign-ups open for a limited group of users and publishers. OpenAI aims to incorporate the best features from this search tool into ChatGPT in the future. According to Kingsley Crane, an analyst at Canaccord Genuity, AI-powered search tools like SearchGPT and Perplexity reaffirm the role of search as a key content engagement model, putting pressure on Google to enhance its offerings.
As of June, Google holds a dominant 91.1% share of the search engine market, based on data from web analytics firm Statcounter. However, SearchGPT promises to shake things up by providing summarized search results with source links and allowing users to ask follow-up questions for more contextual responses. This functionality aims to make information retrieval more efficient and interactive.
In a blog post, OpenAI detailed its plans to offer publishers tools for managing how their content appears in SearchGPT results. News Corp and The Atlantic are among the first publishing partners for this new search engine. This collaboration marks a deeper relationship between OpenAI and publishers, following earlier content licensing agreements with major organizations such as Associated Press, News Corp, and Axel Springer.
Despite its potential, new AI-powered search providers like Perplexity face challenges, including pending legal action from publishers like Wired, Forbes, and Condé Nast. This highlights the complexities and competitive nature of the search engine landscape.
Since the launch of ChatGPT in November 2022, major search engines have been working to integrate AI into their platforms. Microsoft’s early investment in OpenAI technology led to the adoption of these innovations in its Bing search engine. Meanwhile, Google introduced AI-powered summaries to the public during its developer conference in May.
Google has yet to comment on the potential impact of SearchGPT on its business, despite inquiries from Reuters. The news agency had previously reported on OpenAI’s plans for an AI-powered search tool in May.
As the search engine market evolves, the introduction of SearchGPT by OpenAI represents a significant step forward in the application of AI in everyday technology. The ongoing developments in this space suggest a future where search engines are not only more intelligent but also more responsive to user needs.