OpenAI adds search functionality to ChatGPT to compete with Google, Microsoft

OpenAI has expanded the capabilities of its popular AI chatbot, ChatGPT, by adding new search functions directly into the model.

Announced on Thursday, this move positions OpenAI as a serious contender in the search market, long dominated by tech giants like Google, and places it in competition with Microsoft’s Bing and emerging platforms such as Perplexity, an AI search service backed by Jeff Bezos and Nvidia.

The new feature allows ChatGPT to search the web and provide up-to-date, relevant answers, complete with links to external sources.

How it works 

According to OpenAI, the model will determine when to search based on user prompts, using data from third-party search providers and content from established partners.

“ChatGPT search leverages third-party search providers, as well as content provided directly by our partners, to provide the information users are looking for,” OpenAI explained in a blog post.

• The search function is integrated into a fine-tuned version of GPT-4 and is available to ChatGPT Plus and Team users starting Thursday.

• OpenAI plans to roll out the feature to enterprise and educational customers in the coming weeks and to free users gradually over the next few months.

Collaborations with major publishers 

The AI company has struck several content deals with major media organizations, including Condé Nast, Time Magazine, the Financial Times, Axel Springer (owner of Business Insider), France’s Le Monde, and Spain’s Prisa Media.

• OpenAI emphasized that it has worked closely with these publishers to gather feedback on the search feature. Additionally, any website or publisher can opt to be included in ChatGPT search results.

• This latest development follows OpenAI’s selective launch of a prototype called SearchGPT in July, which had real-time internet access capabilities.

• As OpenAI ventures deeper into the search market, it will compete directly with Google’s established dominance and Microsoft’s investments in Bing, as well as innovative new players in the AI search space.

What you should know 

In October, OpenAI secured $6.6 billion in funding, pushing its valuation to an estimated $157 billion.

• This funding round reinforces OpenAI’s position as one of the world’s most valuable private tech companies, with CEO Sam Altman steering the startup’s ambitious projects in AI innovation.
• The funding round was led by Thrive Capital, the venture capital firm headed up by Josh Kushner, with participation from investors including Khosla Ventures, Altimeter Capital, and Fidelity Management & Research Company.
• Other backers include Microsoft Corp., which has already invested $13 billion in the startup, and Nvidia Corp., the chipmaker whose powerful processors are at the center of the AI boom.

Global investors including SoftBank Group Corp. and the new Abu Dhabi-based tech investment firm MGX also participated.