OpenAI will challenge Google's search position. The release date may be selected the day before the Google Developers Conference.
According to two people familiar with the matter, OpenAI plans to release its AI-driven search product next Monday to increase competition with Google, the “king” of searches.
According to foreign media reports, OpenAI, supported by Microsoft (MSFT.O), is developing a search product that may compete with Google, a subsidiary of Alphabet (GOOGL.O), and Perplexity, a well-funded artificial intelligence search startup. Although the exact dates may change, the company is likely to make an announcement the day before Google's annual I/O developer conference starts next Tuesday.
According to the report, OpenAI's search product is an extension of its flagship ChatGPT product, enabling ChatGPT to directly obtain information from the Internet and reference it. The feature will allow users to ask questions and get answers to ChatGPT, and will even include graphics. For example, if a user asks ChatGPT how to replace a doorknob, the results might include an illustration detailing it.
On social media, there has been a lot of speculation about OpenAI's search function. Some X users recently discovered the search.chatgpt.com link. Although it only shows “not found” when opened, the site allegedly briefly redirected to chatgpt.com, the page where the ChatGPT chatbot is located last weekend.
Industry observers have long referred to ChatGPT as an alternative to gathering online information, despite its ongoing difficulties in providing accurate, real-time information on the web. OpenAI earlier offered paid subscribers an integration with Microsoft Bing.
Since its launch at the end of 2022, OpenAI's ChatGPT product is known as the fastest app ever to reach 100 million monthly active users. However, the global traffic of the ChatGPT website has experienced roller coaster changes over the past year. According to data from analysis company Similarweb, the number of users has now finally returned to its peak in May 2023, but the artificial intelligence company is still under pressure to expand its user base.
Its potential competitor, the startup Perplexity, has a valuation of 1 billion US dollars. It was founded by a former OpenAI researcher and has garnered attention by providing an artificial intelligence native search interface. According to a January blog post from the startup, the company currently has 10 million monthly active users.
Google has also been rethinking its core search experience around artificial intelligence, and is expected to unveil the latest plans for its Gemini AI model at next week's annual I/O event.