OpenAI has launched a temporary prototype of an AI search engine called SearchGPT, following Microsoft’s recent rollout of its Bing generative search. Currently, SearchGPT is available in a limited release to a small group of users and publishers, with a waitlist open for others interested in joining the platform. This new offering from OpenAI will compete with other AI search engines like Google’s AI Overviews and Perplexity AI.
Features of OpenAI SearchGPT
OpenAI announced its entry into the search engine space on its website, stating, “We’re testing SearchGPT, a prototype of new search features designed to combine the strength of our AI models with web-sourced information to provide fast, timely answers with clear and relevant citations.”
According to images shared by OpenAI, the SearchGPT interface features a large text box and a search button, leading to a minimalist search results page. The top section displays images, tables, and other graphics relevant to the query, followed by information in paragraphs and bullet points. At the bottom, users will see small rectangular tiles indicating the sources of the information.
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OpenAI aims to address the challenge of finding answers on the web in a single attempt by using SearchGPT’s conversational AI capabilities and real-time web-sourced information. Users can ask follow-up questions, as the AI takes context from previous queries to refine and improve responses. However, OpenAI has not disclosed details about the AI model used for this tool.
The emergence of AI-powered search engines has led to worries among publishers, bloggers, and website owners about potential traffic declines. In response, OpenAI has collaborated with publishers to create SearchGPT and is actively soliciting their feedback. The company is also launching a feature for publishers to manage their appearance in SearchGPT.
OpenAI stressed that SearchGPT is solely intended for search purposes and is not involved in training its generative AI foundation models. Sites can still appear in search results even if they opt out of generative AI training. According to OpenAI’s blog post, “SearchGPT aims to facilitate user connection with publishers by prominently citing and linking to them in search results. The responses include clear, in-line attributions and links, allowing users to easily identify the sources of information and engage further with additional results in a sidebar featuring source links.”
Releasing SearchGPT as a prototype enables OpenAI to address potential issues more effectively. If SearchGPT’s results are significantly incorrect, as seen with Google’s AI Overviews advising to put glue on pizza, it can be attributed to the prototype status. Additionally, it addresses concerns about incorrect attributions or content replication, as Perplexity was accused of.
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