OpenAI Launches SearchGPT, an AI-Powered Search Engine Prototype That Could Take on Google and Perplexity

OpenAI launched a temporary prototype of an artificial intelligence (AI) search engine dubbed SearchGPT on Thursday. The announcement came just a day after Microsoft rolled out its Bing generative search. Currently, SearchGPT is available in limited release, with access to a small group of users and publishers. The company has also opened a waitlist for others to sign up for the platform. The newest offering by the AI firm will compete with other players in the AI search space such as Google's AI Overviews and Perplexity AI.

OpenAI SearchGPT Features

In a post on its website, OpenAI announced its entry into the search engine space. The company said, “We're testing SearchGPT, a prototype of new search features designed to combine the strength of our AI models with information from the web to give you fast and timely answers with clear and relevant sources.”

Based on images shared by the AI firm, the SearchGPT interface will include a large text box and a button to begin the search. This will trigger the search result page with a minimalist interface. On the top, users can see images, tables, and other graphics relevant to their query. Underneath, the information will show up in paragraphs and bullet points. At the bottom, users will see the sources from which the information was taken in small rectangular tiles.

OpenAI says its Search product aims to solve the challenge of finding answers on the web in a single attempt. SearchGPT, as per the AI firm, uses the conversational capabilities of its AI models with real-time information sourced from the web. SearchGPT will also allow users to ask follow-up questions as the AI takes context from previous queries to refine and fine-tune the responses. The company did not disclose the details of the AI model used for this tool.

The rise of AI-powered search engines has raised concerns of dwindling traffic among publishers, bloggers, and website owners. Addressing the concerns, OpenAI said it has partnered with publishers to build SearchGPT and continues to seek their feedback. It has also claimed to be launching a way for publishers to manage how they appear in SearchGPT.

“Importantly, SearchGPT is about search and is separate from training OpenAI's generative AI foundation models. Sites can surface in search results even if they opt out of generative AI training,” OpenAI added.