OpenAI Is Testing an A.I.-Powered Search Engine

The prominent A.I. start-up said it planned to eventually fold the new technology into its popular online chatbot, ChatGPT.

By Cade Metz (Reporting from San Francisco)

OpenAI is testing an A.I.-powered search engine that can access information from across the internet in real time.

The prominent A.I. start-up revealed the new prototype, SearchGPT, in a blog post on Thursday. The company said it was testing the technology with a small group of users as well as online publishers that teamed up with OpenAI to help build the search engine.

“Getting answers on the web can take a lot of effort, often requiring multiple attempts to get relevant results,” the company said in its blog post. “We believe that by enhancing the conversational capabilities of our models with real-time information from the web, finding what you’re looking for can be faster and easier.”

OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for additional comment.

Other companies, including tech giants like Google and Microsoft, as well as start-ups like the San Francisco-based Perplexity, have built similar technologies. These services augment traditional internet search engines with chatbot technology that generates text as a way of answering questions and summarizing online information.

OpenAI plans to integrate its new search engine technology with its existing online chatbot, ChatGPT, which launched the 'A.I. boom' when it was released in November 2022. The company said its new technology would respond to questions with up-to-date information from the web while also providing links to relevant sources.

For instance, if someone asks when the Paris Olympics begin and SearchGPT provides a date for the opening ceremony, it might link to a news article.

OpenAI said online publishers such as Reuters are working with the company on the product. “We are committed to a thriving ecosystem of publishers and creators,” the company said, adding that the technology would highlight “high-quality content in a conversational interface with multiple opportunities for users to engage.”

The company also said it was developing ways for publishers to manage how they appeared in answers generated by the new search engine.

The New York Times has sued OpenAI and its partner, Microsoft, claiming copyright infringement of news content related to A.I. systems. The two companies have denied the suit’s claims.