Meet OpenAI's New Search Engine: ChatGPT Search

OpenAI has introduced a new search engine called ChatGPT Search, which is built into the ChatGPT platform. This search engine aims to provide quick and relevant answers to users' questions by drawing information from various online sources. Powered by a refined version of OpenAI's GPT-4o model, ChatGPT Search not only delivers information but also includes photos and links to the original sources. Users can trigger a web search based on their queries, or they can manually click on a new web search icon. The responses are credited to the original sources, like news publishers, to ensure transparency. For example, if you ask about weekend events in San Francisco, ChatGPT Search might pull up a summary from local news websites. Similarly, for restaurant suggestions, it will show a list of local options. Initially, ChatGPT Plus and Team users will have access to this search engine on mobile and web platforms. Enterprise and educational customers will gain access in the coming weeks, followed by free users. OpenAI has also created a browser extension to set ChatGPT Search as the default search engine in Chrome. OpenAI plans to enhance the search functionality, particularly in areas like shopping and travel, by leveraging its reasoning models. Additionally, they aim to integrate ChatGPT Search with their Advanced Voice Mode feature and make it available to logged-out users. Some publishers have expressed concern over AI-generated summaries like ChatGPT Search, fearing that they could reduce traffic to their sites. However, OpenAI has taken feedback from publisher partners into account to improve how it selects and summarizes articles.