OpenAI integrates a search engine into ChatGPT to access information in real time

OpenAI has announced that from today ChatGPT is a web search engine powered by AI that is capable of accessing information on the Internet in real time. This is a movement that directly targets Google Gemini and Microsoft Copilot, two chatbots that have had this function for a long time. For now, the ChatGPT search engine is reserved for paying subscribers (Plus and Team), as well as those who were on the SearchGPT waiting list. Enterprise and Edu users will have access in the coming weeks and the turn of those who use the service for free will arrive in the coming months.

Unlike traditional search engines that return answers in the form of links, ChatGPT (and the rest of its kind) process questions in natural language and generate a replica based on the selected information they find on the Internet. For example, we can ask the search engine for help navigating a route along the Amalfi Coast (Italy), and then ask follow-up questions to obtain more information about anything such as transportation, restaurants, weather, or accommodation. ChatGPT web search is conversational, selecting information and considering context.

All the information that ChatGPT offers is taken from the Internet, so you also have the task of finding quality sources. This could be the most complicated step considering the current state of the internet and the struggle for SEO. In this sense, OpenAI has partnered with some news and data providers to add updated information. All responses have a link to the source, and the user has the possibility of displaying a sidebar to observe in more detail the websites that the chatbot considers relevant.

Instead of releasing it as a standalone product, OpenAI has integrated web search into the existing ChatGPT interface. The system determines, based on the query, when to access internet results in real time, but the user always has the option to activate manual search. Before this update the knowledge of ChatGPT was limited in time and I did not have access to the most recent information. Now, real-time data must be added to its ability to generate responses based on its training.

It remains to be seen how OpenAI plans to fund free users’ use of ChatGPT features. These artificial intelligence services are very expensive and AI-powered searches are much more expensive than traditional ones. He last quarter Google’s search revenue was $49.4 billion, while OpenAI says it has no plans to introduce ads or promote search. For now, the company charges subscriptions and says it will impose some limits on how often free users can use its latest search models.