OpenAI is adding a new set of search features to its flagship ChatGPT product, escalating the artificial intelligence startup’s challenge to Alphabet Inc.’s Google.
This option, called ChatGPT Search, allows chatbot users to search for timely information just like they do on the web, and get responses with inline attribution to news publishers and other data sources. OpenAI announced Thursday. The company unveiled a prototype of a product called SearchGPT in July, but it was separate from the ChatGPT app and available to only a limited number of users.
A new search feature using OpenAI’s 4o model will launch on Thursday for paid ChatGPT Plus and Team users on mobile and web. OpenAI’s enterprise and education customers will have access to the feature in the coming weeks, and it will be available for free to users in the coming months.
Following the viral success of ChatGPT in late 2022, tech companies raced to incorporate generative AI into a long list of services, including online search. Microsoft Corp and Google are backing OpenAI. Completely overhauled search product Add more conversational AI features. Competing AI search startup Perplexity is currently in early talks to raise funding at a valuation of $9 billion, according to Bloomberg previously reported. With ChatGPT Search, OpenAI is ready to bring similar AI search capabilities to the 250 million people who use chatbots every week.
Alphabet stock fell more than 1% on Thursday on the news.
“When people search for something, they want answers, but answers are hard to come by on the internet today. They require multiple searches and go through tons of links,” OpenAI Media Varun Shetty, head of partnerships, said in an interview with Bloomberg News. “We think the ability to ask questions conversationally, with all the relevant context and high-quality sources on the other side, makes this a better experience.”
In a demo ahead of release, the team at OpenAI used this feature to: Ask ChatGPT about weekend events in San Francisco. The app displayed a summary list of activity pulled from local news websites. For additional questions about finding a restaurant, ChatGPT displayed a map listing local eateries. ChatGPT previously included some quotes in responses, but the new search feature will more prominently display source summaries and preview images.
OpenAI has been building the foundation for search services through a growing number of services. License agreement with publisherNews Corp., Axel Springer SE, Time magazine, and European media companies such as Le Monde. This partnership allows OpenAI to include more reliable and up-to-date information within its products. OpenAI said it has incorporated feedback from ChatGPT Search’s publisher partners on how the chatbot determines which articles are most relevant, as well as how it determines article summary length and citations.
“We believe that AI search will become the primary way to access information in the near future and into the next generation, and by partnering with OpenAI, Le Monde will be at the forefront of this change. ” said Louis Dreyfus, CEO of Le. Mond said in a statement.
OpenAI said its tools do not prioritize news publishers that partner with it. Any website or publisher can choose to appear in ChatGPT Search. The company also wants its search products to be useful for people looking for information beyond hard news.
“Search is a very broad field and this is the first time we’re going into it,” Shetty said. “We need to spend a lot of time improving the experience and focusing on all these important areas: shopping, travel, local.”
Still, like all generative AI products, OpenAI must face the risk that new search tools may fabricate incorrect answers to questions. For example, after the introduction of SearchGPT in July; the reporter pointed out The product demo had the festival date wrong.
The risks for OpenAI are particularly high. Rivals will reveal accurate information about next week’s US election. Starting on Election Day, ChatGPT users who ask questions about voting results will be prompted to check news sources such as the Associated Press and Reuters, as well as state and local election officials, OpenAI said.
data sheet: Stay on top of the latest in the business of technology with thoughtful analysis of the industry’s biggest companies.
Sign up here.
