ChatGPT Search Engine Will Challenge Google, But Won’t Kill It
OpenAI launched its highly publicized search engine, ChatGPT search last week to compete with Google. The market has been expecting the product for several months. Earlier this year, Google added AI generated responses to its search engine as it prepared to counter the impact of OpenAI’s search engine.
But according to TechCrunch, this process wasn’t smooth. In June 2024, Google’s AI Overview feature was trending on social media for generating misleading responses to search queries. This issue caused many people to believe that OpenAI’s ChatGPT search would be Google’s killer.
Intuitive and Conversational
OpenAI has built its ChatGPT search based on its powerful AI model, GPT-4o. The company says its search engine is powered by third-party content and search providers.
According to OpenAI, the new platform allows users to search the internet in a more natural and intuitive way. The company says users can ask follow-up questions the way they would in physical conversations.
“I find it to be a way faster/easier way to get the information I’m looking for. I think we’ll see this especially for queries that require more complex research. I also look forward to a future where a search query can dynamically render a custom web page in response!,” OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said on Reddit AMA.
OpenAI’s search engine is certainly smarter and more aware than Google. Generative AI enhances its ability to maintain context without having to restate the initial query. It’s more accurate, faster, and comes with a clean layout with no ads.
ChatGPT Search vs Google Search
ChatGPT search has been designed to provide users access to a wide range of information. OpenAI says its search engine uses real-time web search to provide news, stock quotes, sports scores, weather information, among other information to users. The company has also signed partnerships with data and news providers to display their information.
ChatGPT search comes with some impressive features that give users an idea of what an AI-search interface would look like in future. Unlike Google, ChatGPT AI answers are displayed in real-time. Like You.com and Perplexity AI, ChatGPT search has adopted a concise and nice format for presenting responses. Links to information sources are presented on the right side of the screen.
The search engine presents headlines and short snippets that allow users to skim through the AI-generated text. These features combine to help users find what they want fast without having to dig through numerous SEO-optimized articles and ads. OpenAI started beta-testing SearchGPT in July 2024.
The Google Advantage
Although ChatGPT search answers are somewhat impressive, there are users who find it impractical for their day-to-day use. They are quick to revert to Google after trying it out as their default search engine.
As it is now, ChatGPT is not ideal for what people use Google for the most – which is short and navigational queries. The bulk of phrases that people search on Google are four words long. With a few keywords, users quickly land on the right web pages. In most cases, users know which sites they are looking for but they don’t want to type them out.
When it comes to providing responses to queries that users make unconsciously throughout the day like ‘Las Vegas weather’, ‘library hours’ or ‘cafes near me’, Google does very well. For billions of users, these are the kind of queries that make the search giant the main to the internet. ChatGPT search isn’t good with such queries. Users can’t rely on it to find what they want using short queries and this makes it difficult for many people to make a complete switch from Google.
Scramble for Market Share
ChatGPT search launch is expected to have an impact on Google’s dominance in the search market, which has been termed an illegal monopoly by a US judge. Alphabet investors are concerned that by providing users with an alternative way of searching the internet, ChatGPT search may reduce Google’s market share. Alphabet shares dropped by 1% after OpenAI unveiled its search engine last week.
