ChatGPT Search, OpenAI’s AI-powered web search tool, is now accessible to all ChatGPT users, bringing several new features.
By default, ChatGPT automatically determines which queries should be processed through ChatGPT Search. Alternatively, users can click a new “Search the web” icon within the interface. The tool offers summarized answers from various online sources and includes rich content such as photos and YouTube videos.
Launched in October as an advancement of OpenAI’s SearchGPT prototype from earlier this year, ChatGPT Search utilizes a fine-tuned version of the GPT-4 model. It provides web-based information, such as sports scores, news, stock quotes, and more, along with relevant source links. This allows users to ask follow-up questions for more detailed answers.
Initially available only to premium ChatGPT subscribers, ChatGPT Search is now available to free users as well.
Moreover, the search tool has been enhanced for speed and can now be set as the default search engine in any web browser. The mobile experience has also been improved, offering better-organized business information, including addresses and phone numbers, with Apple Maps integration on the iOS ChatGPT app.
Additionally, ChatGPT Search is now available in Advanced Voice Mode, OpenAI’s real-time conversational feature for ChatGPT. Soon, users will be able to access real-time web information while using Advanced Voice Mode on both mobile and desktop.
Some publishers have raised concerns about AI-powered search tools like ChatGPT Search, Perplexity, and Google’s AI Overviews, claiming that these tools could lower traffic to the websites from which they source information. A study suggested that AI Overviews alone could negatively impact around 25% of publisher traffic due to the reduced emphasis on links to their pages.
OpenAI asserts that it has incorporated feedback from partners to improve how ChatGPT Search determines article relevance, as well as how it selects summary lengths and quotations.
Source: techcrunch.com
