OpenAI announces SearchGPT

Following the recent focus on Meta's introduction of Llama 3.1, OpenAI is now attracting the spotlight with another major announcement: the introduction of SearchGPT. With this new technology, OpenAI offers an innovative way for users to perform searches and get information.

In early March 2024, Sam Altman told Lex Fridman during an interview that he would find it boring to build a search engine similar to Google. What he did think was "cool" was the integration between LLM and Search, "nobody has cracked that code yet."

And OpenAI does not appear to have been idle. On July 25, 2024, OpenAI announced SearchGPT, a prototype of new search features that leverages the power of their AI models to give you quick answers with clear and relevant sources.

This is an excerpt from Lex Fridman's interview with Sam Altman published on March 18, 2024. View the entire interview here.

What exactly is SearchGPT?

SearchGPT is designed to give users access to relevant information from the Web in a fast, intuitive way. The system uses advanced natural language processing to answer queries with clear and reliable sources. The emphasis here is on citing and linking to original sources. This prototype provides the ability to search through naturally, similar to a conversation, giving a more organic and user-friendly experience.

What can you do with SearchGPT?

Find what you are looking for in a faster and easier way.
Get current answers to your questions quickly.
Find real-time information from the Web with clear links to relevant resources.
Search in a more natural, intuitive way with follow-up questions, just as you would in a conversation.
Get visual answers with images and video in an easy-to-understand format.

With this, OpenAI seems to be competing fully with search engines such as Google Search, as well as Perplexity. This could start to cause a major shift in search behavior. This makes it even more important to make sure your content and products are visible when someone asks a related question to a chatbot such as ChatGPT.

In its introduction, OpenAI also specifically states that "SearchGPT is designed to help users connect with publishers by listing them prominently and linking to them in searches.

This is a logical consequence of the many licensing agreements OpenAI has recently signed with several major publishers such as News Corp ($250 million over five years), Financial Times, The Atlantic and Associated Press (AP). These collaborations help train OpenAI's AI models and ensure that search results are based on current and reliable sources.

Future Developments

Although SearchGPT is currently only available to a limited test group, interested parties can sign up for the waiting list. OpenAI has indicated that this prototype is a temporary solution, with the intention of integrating the most successful features into ChatGPT in the future. Feedback from both users and publishers will play an important role in further developing and refining these features.

In addition to improving the overall search experience, OpenAI is also focusing on improving local information and commercial search. This could mean that users can expect even more personalized and contextually relevant search results in the future.

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