ChatGPT’s search now available to all registered users
AI-powered search can’t be called the Holy Grail of this technology, since the range of its applications is so wide that this sort of functionality is just a small portion thereof. Yet, if the story of Google tells us anything, search is, firstly, a moneymaking asset, and secondly, the key that opens the hearts of users. So, it is kind of a big deal for a business, for-profit or not.
OpenAI, which started as a non-profit and later grew an earning arm, clearly understands the value of search, and has been working on SearchGPT for some time now. We’ve covered it in this post and mentioned the undertaking as an alternative to Google in this piece. The project is a success, as it seems: rolled out in phases, it was just made available to all registered users of ChatGPT.
How does ChatGPT search work?
It is not vastly different from what you are used to, and this approach is obviously intentional.
- First off, the AI decides whether it can answer your query itself or needs to tap into the web for more information, but this is modifiable, i.e., you can explicitly tell ChatGPT that it should go online and look things up there.
- Alongside the responses, ChatGPT includes links to sources for verification, which, given its proneness to hallucinations, is a good thing. Nothing groundbreakingly new, though: Perplexity.ai, one of the pioneers of the AI-powered search market, has been serving references from the outset.
- Follow-up questions are a regular practice now, allowing you to refine your search and/or get additional information. The machine won’t lose context.
- Videos can be played immediately in the chat window, and you can literally ask questions with your voice, since search functionality is available in the Advanced Voice Mode.
This move pits OpenAI against Google, challenging the latter’s dominance in the search market. For us, the regular users, this race is a good thing: competing, the giants will tirelessly improve their products – Google’s latest bid in this domain is AI Overviews – and deliver truly useful and capable tools.
