ChatGPT Search, OpenAI's AI-powered web search experience, is now available to all ChatGPT users with several latest features.
By default, ChatGPT routinely determines which inquiries to route through ChatGPT Search, or users can tap a brand new “Search the Web” icon within the ChatGPT interface. ChatGPT search shows aggregated answers from various online sources in addition to “wealthy” content corresponding to embedded photos and YouTube videos.
ChatGPT Search launched in October as an evolution of OpenAI's SearchGPT prototype, which was unveiled this summer. Built on a fine-tuned version of OpenAI's GPT-4o model, ChatGPT Search provides information from across the online – like sports scores, news, stock quotes and more – together with links to relevant sources where users can ask the next questions: Ask Questions to refine your search.
ChatGPT Search was originally only available to premium ChatGPT subscribers. Now even non-paying users can access it.
ChatGPT search has also been made “faster,” OpenAI said during a livestream on Monday, and may now be set because the default search engine for any web browser. Additionally, there’s an improved ChatGPT mobile search experience. For example, on mobile devices, users can now see more organized company information, including addresses (in Apple Maps within the ChatGPT app for iOS) and phone numbers.
Finally, ChatGPT Search is now available in Enhanced Voice Mode, OpenAI's real-time conversation feature for ChatGPT. In the approaching days, users will have the ability to access current web information while using enhanced voice mode on mobile or desktop.
When my colleague Max Zeff tested ChatGPT search earlier this 12 months, it was mixed. However, OpenAI is clearly keen to refine the feature because it sees it as a crucial growth path.
Some publishers have protested against AI-powered search tools like ChatGPT Search, Perplexity and Google's AI Overviews, saying they threaten to cannibalize traffic to the sites they get their information from. One study found that AI overviews alone could do that negatively impact around 25% of publisher traffic resulting from the underemphasis on links to web sites.
OpenAI says it has taken under consideration feedback from partners on how ChatGPT Search decides which articles are most relevant to a search query and the way it determines summary length and citations for articles.
