OpenAI plans to announce a new artificial intelligence (AI) search product this Monday, according to sources familiar with the development. The launch date, while not final, marks an important step in OpenAI’s ongoing competition with Google, the current leader in search technology.
Reports indicate that OpenAI, backed by Microsoft, has been developing a search tool aimed at competing not only with Google (owned by Alphabet) but also with Perplexity, a promising AI search startup. This new product is expected to enhance the capabilities of OpenAI’s ChatGPT by allowing it to fetch real-time information from the web and include citations in its responses.
OpenAI declined to comment on the upcoming announcement.
Strategic Timing Before Google’s AI Event
The timing of the announcement could be strategic, as it comes just a day before Google’s annual I/O conference. At this event, Google is expected to introduce a series of AI-centric innovations.
Extending ChatGPT’s Functionality
OpenAI’s initiative extends the functionality of ChatGPT, which currently uses the company’s advanced AI models to deliver human-like text responses. While hailed as a revolutionary tool for online information retrieval, ChatGPT has faced challenges in providing accurate, up-to-date web content. To address this, OpenAI previously integrated the service with Microsoft’s Bing search engine for premium users.
Competition with Google and Perplexity
Google, on the other hand, has been enhancing its search engine with new generative AI features. Meanwhile, Perplexity AI, founded by a former OpenAI researcher and valued at $1 billion, has made progress by offering a search interface that uniquely presents citations and images along with text responses. Perplexity reported having 10 million monthly active users as of January.
ChatGPT’s Popularity and Challenges
Following its late 2022 debut, ChatGPT quickly became the fastest application to achieve 100 million monthly active users. However, Similarweb notes that the global traffic to ChatGPT’s website has experienced fluctuations over the past year, only recently stabilizing to match its peak in May 2023. Amidst this backdrop, OpenAI is under increasing pressure to broaden its user base.
Previous Efforts to Update ChatGPT
In an earlier effort to update ChatGPT with real-time web information, OpenAI introduced ChatGPT plugins. However, this feature was discontinued in April, according to OpenAI’s help center page.