ChatGPT search recently became available to all free ChatGPT users, and promises “fast, timely answers with links to relevant web sources.” Learn more about how this AI-powered search engine is changing the way people search online.
ChatGPT search was first introduced in October as a new way to search online. At first, only paid subscribers could access the feature, but now, any ChatGPT user can use it so long as they are logged in.
ChatGPT search isn’t like Google Search or other major search engines. There aren’t pages of links to scroll through or sponsored ads at the top of the results, at least not yet. Instead, users prompt the search engine with a question and receive one detailed answer, which they can then ask follow-up questions about.
AI chatbots like ChatGPT have a bit of a reputation for generating fake citations or providing false or misleading information. But ChatGPT search is trying to mitigate this by providing citations from trustworthy sources, with links to the original sources so that users can easily verify the veracity of the information they receive.
Of course, in OpenAI’s own words, “ChatGPT can make mistakes. Check important info.”
As of the publishing of this blog post, ChatGPT’s Search functionality requires users to sign into an OpenAI account. Once that’s done, users can click the “Search” button within the message box at the bottom of the screen to enter search mode. Doing this will allow ChatGPT to pull its answers from internet sources in real time. ChatGPT may also choose to search the web depending on the question asked.
ChatGPT search allows users to ask their questions in a more conversational way than searches have traditionally been conducted on other search engines. After prompting the search bot, it will “think” for a moment, and then generate an answer, with highlighted sources, photos, and/or videos. For example, we asked ChatGPT search to tell us about the first person to walk on the moon.
In response, we received a detailed biography of Neil Armstrong, multiple photos, and footage of the first moon landing.
The way we search online is undoubtedly changing across the board. ChatGPT search is not the first tool to mesh together search and AI functionalities. Google’s AI Overviews actually functions very similarly to ChatGPT search, providing summarized information with links to various sources at the top of the search results.
Whether audiences will fully embrace AI search as an evolution of search engines remains to be seen. Right now, Google continues to be the leading search engine. But data suggests that ChatGPT search could have 1% market share by next year, a stunning achievement in an industry that has been so thoroughly dominated by Google for decades.
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