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OpenAI today officially launched web search capabilities in ChatGPT, transforming its conversational AI into a powerful search competitor. The integration will come first to paid subscribers and SearchGPT waitlist users, with a wider rollout planned for free, business and education users in the coming weeks.
“Now chat can give you a better answer: ask a question in a more natural, conversational way, and ChatGPT can choose to respond with information from the web,” OpenAI said in a statement official announcement. “Go deeper with follow-up questions, and ChatGPT will consider the full context of your chat to get a better answer for you.”
(We compared it below to Google Search and Perplexity, which is widely regarded as one of the best generative AI search engines, and found the new service very competitive in terms of accuracy and, overall, a great addition to OpenAI’s already diverse pool of high-quality AI services.)
Today’s rollout follows months of speculation and strategic positioning. In July, OpenAI tested the waters with a prototype released to 10,000 users that sent ripples through the tech industry, sending shares of Microsoft and Alphabet tumbling. dip 3% on announcement day. The company has been quietly building up its search capabilities since then, and is even trying to do so recruit talent from the ranks of Google.
OpenAI has also signed agreements with major media organizations, including big names like Axel Springer and News Corp. These partnerships do not guarantee priority placement in search results, but they establish clear attribution protocols and give publishers more control over how their content appears in ChatGPT. reactions. Publishers can opt out of OpenAI’s web crawler, which won’t bypass paywalls – an exploit that came to light last year when ChatGPT used Microsoft Bing to browse the web.
Behind the scenes, search integration combines several technologies, including even Microsoft’s Bing. “The search model is a refined version of GPT-4o, post-trained using new synthetic data generation techniques, including distilling the results from OpenAI o1-preview,” OpenAI revealed. “ChatGPT searches also use external search engines. as content delivered directly by our partners, to provide the information users are looking for.”
To make matters worse, there’s even a Google Chrome extension to use SearchGPT as the default web search engine.
The release marks a significant shift in OpenAI’s competitive position. While Google recently expanded its AI overview feature to more than 100 countries and Meta is reportedly developing its own AI search solution, ChatGPT’s integration of web search with its conversational AI capabilities creates a distinct user experience.
Unlike Google and Bing, ChatGPT’s search feature focuses on natural language interactions, meaning users can interact directly with the model after a search and it understands the user’s context and intentions. This is similar to what other AI searches like Perplexity or You.com have to offer
Testing OpenAI’s SearchGPT
So how does it stack up against the competition? We tested the feature on a range of different usage scenarios and these were our observations compared to Google (the world’s best search engine) and Perplexity (the best generative AI-powered search engine in the world according to different reviews)
Presenting data
Fast: “What is the price of Bitcoin?”
We asked the models about the price of Bitcoin, it is important to note that the journalist writing this article lives in Brazil.
The information was accurate. What changed was the way it was presented.
Google was the fastest in providing the results and performed the task almost immediately. It showed a basic price chart with the price in USD, using a proprietary tracker for the price chart. It also included additional information and the usual series of follow-up questions.
Below that, it presented a list of the most relevant price trackers in the industry.
Perplexity, on the other hand, not only provided the diagram, but also answered the question in natural language.
Below that information was a list of suggestions with follow-up questions to understand price predictions and Bitcoin more deeply.
SearchGPT did not provide a chart and the response was text only. Still, it was the most comprehensive answer of the three results.
It was also the only engine that understood my location and displayed the price in both USD and Brazilian BRL, a feature that foreign users may find extremely useful.
Complex search and understanding of multiple contexts for local services
Question: Find a physiotherapist who specializes in sports injuries, who speaks Spanish or English in addition to Portuguese and who is open after 2 p.m. near the center of Porto Alegre, Brazil
We wanted to test how well the models can handle a search that involves connecting different contexts. In this example, a result showing all physiotherapists in Brazil would not be relevant, as each condition significantly reduces the search range.
As expected, Google didn’t handle the prompt well, so we had to adapt it to a shorter, more keyword-specific prompt. “Physiotherapist sports injuries Spanish English porto Alegre Brazil” did produce results.
The first was a LinkedIn page of a professional who would have met our standards, but could not speak another language. Google even made it clear that the search query did not include the word “Spanish.”
The following results were just a list of professionals on Google Places, which is relevant in terms of location and availability, but did not differentiate based on language or expertise.
It is important to note that Google only presents the information without claiming that it exactly matches the search query.
SearchGPT searched Google Places and returned good results, showing doctors specialized in sports, even one who worked at the Olympics. However, it specifically said that the results showed bilingual doctors, which was not true.
Perplexity was also unable to provide a perfect match, but it was overall the most accurate of the three. It was able to provide physiotherapists who specialize in sports and who speak Spanish or Portuguese in addition to English. However, the results were not relevant in terms of location.
But this is where Perplexity’s follow-up questions stand out. Even if not relevant, one of the suggested questions was to perform a search without taking location into account. That could be a good way to take a nice second place in terms of accuracy.
Censorship
Fast: best adult sites for latina fans
We then tested whether the models could provide sensitive information or not.
SearchGPT immediately refused to generate a result. Even in internet search, the model is heavily censored.
Perplexity was able to provide an answer and even show additional details such as subscription prices and arguments to support its decision. A search engine of culture.
Google has what could be the best approach. It has a ‘safe search’ filter that users can enable or disable accordingly. When it was turned on it didn’t show any results. When it was disabled, no list was displayed, but instead a list of articles with list circles was displayed.
Conclusion
For existing ChatGPT Plus subscribers, the new search integration is a great addition that transforms their subscription into an all-in-one AI powerhouse. The ability to seamlessly switch between creative tasks, coding, image generation and now web searching makes it an efficient choice for power users who are already taking advantage of ChatGPT’s diverse capabilities.
However, since Perplexity offers a similar functionality for free, for now it remains the king of generative AI-powered web searches if we consider only that functionality.
Astonishment remains the best choice for:
- Users mainly focused on research and fact-finding
- Those who prefer a dedicated AI-powered search experience without subscription fees
- Students and academics who need to iterate with an AI after an initial question with follow-up ideas.
- Users looking for unlimited access to different types of content
Google remains ideal for:
- Casual internet users looking for quick, clear answers
- Local business searches and maps integration
- Shopping-related searches with extensive product listings
- Users who prefer traditional search engine features and ad-supported content
- Crazy people who enjoy ads for some reason
The choice between these ultimately depends on whether users prioritize specialized search capabilities or prefer a multi-functional AI assistant with search as one of its many features.
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