Google’s flagship developer conference, Google I/O, is set to take place on May 13. Coincidentally, OpenAI’s rumored ChatGPT search engine is expected to launch on the same day, according to Reuters. This move by OpenAI is seen as a direct shot at Google’s dominance in the search engine market.
A ChatGPT search engine is a unique concept that combines the power of OpenAI’s ChatGPT with traditional search capabilities. It is similar to an existing Google experiment called SGE (Search Generative Experience), which provides chatbot responses at the top of the search page followed by the usual list of links. However, SGE is still in the testing phase and only appears for select users.
The original ChatGPT itself is already considered an alternative to a traditional search engine. It operates by providing information in a conversational chat interface. Its knowledge cutoff date is currently set at May 2023, making it a valuable resource for general information-gathering.
In the past, ChatGPT was briefly connected to the internet through integration with Microsoft Bing. However, this integration was disabled due to issues with the chatbot accessing paywalled content without authorization. OpenAI has also faced criticism from publishers for scraping their stories without credit or compensation, leading to lawsuits from The New York Times and other news outlets over plagiarism and copyright infringement.
To address these concerns and establish partnerships, OpenAI has been actively working on licensing deals with publishers like Axel Springer, the Financial Times, and Dotdash Meredith. These partnerships allow OpenAI to use their content to train its AI models and surface information from their sites. However, there are ongoing disputes with other sites that have blocked OpenAI from crawling their pages for content.
The impact of these licensing disputes on the ChatGPT search engine’s ability to provide real-time information remains uncertain. Nevertheless, OpenAI’s intention to challenge Google’s dominance in the search engine market is evident. While Microsoft Bing’s AI-powered search engine, now known as Copilot, has not significantly affected Google’s market share, other startups like Perplexity AI are also attempting to compete with Google.
Perplexity AI, founded by former employees of OpenAI and Google, has a valuation of $1 billion and utilizes a collection of LLMs (Language Models) for its search engine. With both established players and new startups vying for a piece of Google’s pie, OpenAI’s ChatGPT search engine aims to make a mark by upstaging Google at its own party.
In conclusion, the upcoming launch of OpenAI’s ChatGPT search engine presents an intriguing challenge to Google’s dominance. While it offers a unique conversational interface and valuable information, the ongoing licensing disputes and scraping controversies raise concerns about its ability to provide real-time information. Nonetheless, with the search engine market ripe for disruption, OpenAI joins the competition alongside established players like Microsoft Bing and emerging startups like Perplexity AI.
