OpenAI has announced its much-anticipated entry into the search market with SearchGPT, an AI-powered search engine designed to provide real-time access to information across the internet.
Unlike traditional search engines, SearchGPT starts with a large textbox asking users, “What are you looking for?” Instead of returning a plain list of links, SearchGPT organizes and makes sense of the information. For instance, in a demonstration by OpenAI, the search engine summarizes its findings on music festivals, presenting short descriptions of the events followed by attribution links.
In another example, SearchGPT explains when to plant tomatoes, breaking down different varieties of the plant. After the results appear, users can ask follow-up questions or click the sidebar to open other relevant links. A feature called “visual answers” is also mentioned, though details on how it works were not provided before publication.
Currently, SearchGPT is in the “prototype” phase. Powered by the GPT-4 family of models, it will initially be accessible to 10,000 test users, according to OpenAI spokesperson Kayla Wood. Wood adds that OpenAI is collaborating with third-party partners and using direct content feeds to build its search results. The ultimate goal is to integrate the search features directly into ChatGPT.
