‘SearchGPT’ is here to take on Google, but its launch is behind a waitlist

Ben Schoon | Jul 25 2024 - 11:30 am PT

OpenAI has today, as a prototype, launched its long-rumored AI-powered search engine competitor to Google, “SearchGPT.”

Available starting today through a waitlist, “SearchGPT” is OpenAI’s take on a search engine. By giving ChatGPT real-time access to the web, the new experience can pull relevant information from the web with “timely answers” and “clear and relevant sources.”

OpenAI explains in a post:

We’re testing SearchGPT, a prototype of new search features designed to combine the strength of our AI models with information from the web to give you fast and timely answers with clear and relevant sources.

In response to your question or prompt, SearchGPT will first try to give a direct answer, often directly sourcing one or more links. From there, a link button off to the side contains further sources and results relevant to the query. You can also ask follow-up questions with the context following through from the original query.

OpenAI is also pushing clear sourcing as a key point of SearchGPT, explaining that the product is “designed” to connect users with online publishers through in-line attribution links and more.

SearchGPT is designed to help users connect with publishers by prominently citing and linking to them in searches. Responses have clear, in-line, named attribution and links so users know where information is coming from and can quickly engage with even more results in a sidebar with source links.

This comes as Google has been pushing to bring AI to Search, but with its AI Overviews receiving negative feedback to start thanks to widespread and viral mistakes. It’s been recently estimated that Google has drastically limited how often AI Overviews are appearing in Search.

OpenAI has a waitlist open now for SearchGPT, with users selected being notified via email.