A long-awaited search engine being developed by the maker of ChatGPT is far from ready to replace Google, according to interviews with people who got access to the tool, videos shared online and analysis by a search marketing firm. OpenAI’s SearchGPT uses artificial intelligence to provide slick answers with clearly marked sources, by summarizing information drawn from different webpages. But the search tool struggled with some shopping and local queries, and on some occasions, it presented untrue or “hallucinated” information. The limitations of the prototype search tool suggest that OpenAI, whose ChatGPT has inspired predictions that some Silicon Valley giants could become sidelined, still has major work to do before it can begin to directly threaten Google’s lucrative search business. “We’re going to take the best features and merge them into ChatGPT,” OpenAI spokeswoman Kayla Wood said in a phone interview about SearchGPT. When asked if OpenAI’s service would include ads, like Google and other established search engines, Wood said the company’s business model was based on subscriptions. But she added that OpenAI hasn’t announced if SearchGPT will be offered free or as part of a ChatGPT subscription. Since OpenAI unveiled ChatGPT in November 2022, tech pundits and industry insiders have predicted that AI chatbots will revolutionize the way people find information online, potentially disrupting Google’s lucrative, decades-old position as the dominant gateway to the web. OpenAI stoked further excitement in July when it announced SearchGPT, and in recent weeks, the company began making the prototype available to 10,000 early testers.
Full report : OpenAI’s search tool shows promise but lacks Google’s specialized functions and can suffer from hallucinations.
