OpenAI announced on Thursday an upgrade to its generative AI-based ChatGPT, introducing a new integrated web search feature that the company says is designed to deliver fast and timely answers directly within the chat interface. This enhancement allows users to ask questions in a natural, conversational manner while receiving links to relevant and credible sources, eliminating the need for multiple searches or going to a search engine.
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Accessibility for Users
Available on chatgpt.com and across desktop and mobile apps, the search feature will be accessible to all ChatGPT Plus and Team users, as well as those on the SearchGPT waitlist starting October 31. Enterprise and education users will gain access in the coming weeks, with free users to follow over the next few months.
With the update, "you can get fast, timely answers with links to relevant web sources, which you would have previously needed to go to a search engine for," OpenAI said in a blog post.
Real-Time Information at Your Fingertips
"ChatGPT will choose to search the web based on what you ask, or you can manually choose to search by clicking the web search icon," the company said.
This upgrade to ChatGPT enables the AI chatbot to provide up-to-date sports scores, news, stock quotes, and more information with direct links to relevant web sources, the company said.
With this update, ChatGPT is trying to compete with Google and Perplexity, another AI-powered search engine that claims to offer a more conversational version of Google with sources referenced in the answer.
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"We also partnered with news and data providers to add up-to-date information and new visual designs for categories like weather, stocks, sports, news, and maps," OpenAI said.
The search function (model) is powered by a fine-tuned version of GPT-4o, incorporating third-party search providers, partners, and content from prominent publishers such as the Associated Press, Financial Times, and Vox Media. According to the company, this collaboration aims to provide users with original, high-quality content while expanding the reach of journalism.
“ChatGPT search promises to better highlight and attribute information from trustworthy news sources, benefiting audiences while expanding the reach of publishers like ourselves who produce premium journalism," said Pam Wasserstein, President, of Vox Media.
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Help Users Discover Publishers and Websites
OpenAI added that chats now include links to sources, such as news articles and blog posts, allowing users to learn more.
"We are convinced that AI search will be, in a near future and for the next generations, a primary way to access information, and partnering with OpenAI positions Le Monde at the forefront of this shift. It allows us to test innovations at an early stage while safeguarding journalism's core values and integrity," said Louis Dreyfus, CEO and Publisher of Le Monde.
"By integrating search with a chat interface, users can engage with information in a new way, while content owners gain new opportunities to reach a broader audience. We hope to help users discover publishers and websites while bringing more choice to search," OpenAI said.
"As AI reshapes the media landscape, Axel Springer's partnership with OpenAI opens up tremendous opportunities for innovative advancements. Together, we're driving new business models that ensure journalism remains both trustworthy and profitable," said Mathias Sanchez, SVP Global Strategic Partnerships at Axel Springer SE.
Collaboration with News OrganiSations
Furthermore, OpenAI said the company has collaborated with the news industry and incorporated feedback from its global publisher partners, including Associated Press, Axel Springer, Conde Nast, Dotdash Meredith, Financial Times, GEDI, Hearst, Le Monde, News Corp, Prisa (El Pais), Reuters, The Atlantic, Time, and Vox Media.
The company added that any website or publisher can opt to appear in ChatGPT's search results, with OpenAI actively seeking feedback from content creators to refine the system further.
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Future Developments and Enhancements
The company plans to improve search, particularly in areas like shopping and travel, and leverage the reasoning capabilities of the OpenAI o1 series. "We also plan to bring our new search experience to Advanced Voice and Canvas, as well as to Free and logged-out users in the future," OpenAI said.