OpenAI has expanded ChatGPT’s capabilities by introducing a built-in search function, allowing the AI chatbot to browse the web and deliver real-time answers. Announced Thursday, this new feature places OpenAI in direct competition with search giants like Google, Microsoft’s Bing, and newer players like Perplexity, an AI-driven search platform backed by Jeff Bezos and Nvidia.
The advanced search feature, empowered by an optimized GPT-4 model, is now offered to ChatGPT Plus and Team Users. As stated by OpenAI, this model will rely on third-party search providers together with content originating from reliable partners to retrieve answers when required. “ChatGPT search leverages third-party search providers, as well as content provided directly by our partners, to provide the information users are looking for,” OpenAI explained in a blog post.
In the next few weeks, OpenAI intends to make the feature accessible for enterprise and educational clients, while free users should expect to be granted full access several months later.
To improve its search functions, OpenAI has negotiated content agreements with major publishers such as Condé Nast, Time Magazine, Financial Time, Axel Springer, Le Monde, and Spain’s Prisa Media. OpenAI worked closely with these publishers to gather feedback and refine the tool. Additionally, publishers can choose to include their content in ChatGPT search results.
This search function follows OpenAI’s July release of SearchGPT, a prototype offering limited real-time web access. Now, with the official launch of search features, OpenAI is prepared to compete directly with Google’s long-standing dominance, Microsoft’s AI investments in Bing, and other innovators in the growing AI search landscape.
