OpenAI has officially entered the search engine market, an area long dominated by Google, with the introduction of SearchGPT, an AI-powered search engine that offers real-time information from the internet.
This announcement, made on Thursday, positions OpenAI in direct competition with Google and even its major supporter, Microsoft’s Bing, as well as other emerging AI search services like Perplexity, which is backed by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Nvidia.
Following the announcement, shares of Google’s parent company Alphabet (NASDAQ) fell by 3%.
OpenAI has initiated sign-ups for SearchGPT, currently in its prototype phase and being tested by a select group of users and publishers. The company plans to incorporate the most successful features of SearchGPT into ChatGPT in the future.
“AI-powered search tools from OpenAI and Perplexity re-affirm search as a content engagement model but pressure Google to improve its own search capabilities,” stated Kingsley Crane, an analyst at Canaccord Genuity.
As of June, Google held a 91.1% share of the search engine market, according to web analytics firm Statcounter.
SearchGPT aims to provide summarized search results with source links, allowing users to ask follow-up questions and receive contextual responses. Additionally, OpenAI will offer tools for publishers to manage how their content appears in SearchGPT results, with News Corp and The Atlantic among its initial publishing partners.
This move represents a closer collaboration between publishers and OpenAI, following content licensing agreements with organizations like the Associated Press, News Corp, and Axel Springer.
“Newer AI-powered search providers could face their own challenges, with Perplexity already facing pending legal action from publishers like Wired, Forbes, and Condé Nast,” added Crane.
Since the launch of ChatGPT in November 2022, major search engines have been integrating AI into their platforms. Microsoft adopted OpenAI technology for its Bing search engine early on, while Google introduced AI-powered summaries at its developer conference in May.
Google did not respond to a request for comment on the potential impact of SearchGPT on its business.
This development marks a significant step for OpenAI as it expands its footprint in the search engine market, challenging established players with innovative AI-driven solutions.
