ChatGPT introduces search feature, stepping up competition with Google

OpenAI has introduced a new suite of search functions within its large language model, ChatGPT. It chose to integrate the feature directly into the chatbot rather than launch it as a standalone product.

This move puts OpenAI in direct competition with Alphabet’s Google, Microsoft’s Bing—its own financial backer—and new entrants like Perplexity, an AI chatbot focused on search backed by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Nvidia.

ChatGPT’s search capability will activate based on user queries, providing swift, relevant answers supported by links to web sources. “ChatGPT search draws from third-party search providers as well as content from our partners to deliver the information users seek,” OpenAI stated in a recent blog post.

The search model is a specialized version of GPT-4, and starting Thursday, it will be available to all ChatGPT Plus and Team users. Enterprise and educational customers will gain access in the coming weeks, with free-tier access rolling out over the following months.

Under CEO Sam Altman’s leadership, OpenAI has signed content agreements this year with several major publishers, including Condé Nast, Time magazine, the Financial Times, Axel Springer (Business Insider’s parent company), France’s Le Monde, and Spain’s Prisa Media.

OpenAI stated it has worked closely with the news industry, gathering input from partners on the new search function. Any website or publisher can be included in ChatGPT’s search results.

In July, OpenAI launched SearchGPT, a prototype search engine with real-time internet access. More recently, in October, the company raised $6.6 billion in funding, potentially valuing OpenAI at $157 billion, solidifying its position as one of the most valuable private tech firms globally.