OpenAI launches ChatGPT search engine, challenging Google’s dominance

OpenAI has launched ChatGPT Search, a new tool that allows users to get quick, direct answers from the web with relevant links, positioning it as a competitor to established search engines like Google. 

In a blog post on Thursday, the American AI company highlighted how the tool enhances the ChatGPT experience, combining conversational responses with live access to web-based information.

"ChatGPT can now search the web in a much better way than before," the company announced. "You can get fast, timely answers with links to relevant web sources, which you would have previously needed to go to a search engine for."

This innovation, according to OpenAI, allows users to get “up-to-date sports scores, news, stock quotes, and more” through a natural language interface. The search feature will activate automatically based on user queries or can be manually triggered by clicking a web search icon.

In addition, OpenAI revealed partnerships with news and data providers to supply real-time information, adding new visual designs for categories like weather, stocks, sports, news, and maps.

Available on chatgpt.com and through both desktop and mobile apps, ChatGPT Search is currently accessible to ChatGPT Plus and Team users, as well as those on the SearchGPT waitlist. Enterprise and Edu users will gain access in the coming weeks, with plans to roll out the feature to all free users over the next few months.

The launch of ChatGPT Search intensifies competition in the search engine market, where Google, Microsoft’s Bing, and other AI-driven platforms like Perplexity are vying for dominance. OpenAI’s expansion into web search underscores the growing trend of integrating AI with live data, offering users both timely information and conversational ease.