ChatGPT's search feature heats up competition

ChatGPT, with a new feature announced by OpenAI on October 31 called search, combines its powerful AI-powered chatbot with up-to-date results. There is also a Chrome extension available for this search functionality.

Users can ask ChatGPT their queries using natural language and receive relevant information as well as up-to-date links. 

OpenAI stated that ChatGPT search will be offered to users for free in the coming months.

OpenAI has partnered with multiple news organizations to populate ChatGPT's results. It emphasized that previously, users had to resort to an external search engine to get relevant links, but with this new feature, this cumbersome process is no longer necessary.

Vox Media President Pam Wasserstein said, "ChatGPT search promises to better highlight and cite information from trusted news sources, which benefits audiences while expanding the reach of publishers who produce quality journalism."

News partners include Associated Press, Axel Springer, Condé Nast, Dotdash Meredith, Financial Times, GEDI, Hearst, Le Monde, News Corp, Prisa (El País), Reuters, The Atlantic, Time and Vox Media. 

When ChatGPT was launched in late 2022, it quickly gained popularity and offered people an alternative option to Google search. Since then, the online search landscape has changed significantly; Google and Microsoft have also begun offering their own AI-powered search engines and chatbots. For example, Google's AI Overviews appear at the top of Google search, answering people's questions with AI-generated responses. Other players like Perplexity have focused on AI-powered online search from the start. The added competition has caused Google's global search market share to drop from 90% to 87%.

With ChatGPT's latest update, it appears that almost all major AI chatbots feel the need to have a strong internet connection.

Mathias Sanchez, Senior Vice President of Global Strategic Partnerships at Axel Springer SE, said, "As AI reshapes the structure of media, the partnership between OpenAI and Axel Springer offers tremendous opportunities for innovative developments." Sanchez concluded by saying, "Together, we are developing new business models that ensure journalism remains both reliable and profitable."

News Source: 12punto