OpenAI Launches AI Search Engine, Alphabet’s Stock Drops 3%

Shares of Alphabet, Google’s parent company, fell 3% to a 2024 low on Thursday following the announcement of a new AI-powered search engine from OpenAI. The drop in Alphabet’s stock came as OpenAI launched a test version of SearchGPT, a potential game-changer in the search engine arena currently dominated by Google.

SearchGPT, developed using OpenAI’s cutting-edge AI models, is now available as a limited “prototype” to a select group of around 10,000 users and publishers. The introduction of this search engine signals OpenAI’s entry into the competitive internet search market. At the close of trading on Thursday, Alphabet’s stock plummeted to a 52-week low of $167.32. SearchGPT’s approach differs significantly from traditional search engines. Instead of providing direct links to websites, SearchGPT summarizes information from various sources and presents concise descriptions with attribution links. Users can also ask follow-up questions or explore additional relevant links displayed in a sidebar.

For instance, if a user searches for music festivals in Boone, North Carolina, for August, SearchGPT will display a list of festivals with brief descriptions and a link to the festival’s website. A sidebar will provide further relevant information such as event schedules and ticket sales. Publishers will have control over their visibility in SearchGPT. OpenAI has stated that publishers can choose whether to have their content used to train its AI models while still appearing in search results. This flexibility could be a significant advantage for publishers looking to manage their presence online.

OpenAI has indicated that it plans to incorporate the best features of SearchGPT into ChatGPT in the future. However, details on which specific features will be included have not yet been disclosed. The duration of SearchGPT’s testing phase and its timeline for broader availability remain unclear. OpenAI has yet to announce when the search engine will be accessible to the general public.

The launch of SearchGPT has been anticipated for some time. Earlier this year, speculation arose about OpenAI’s intentions to enter the search engine market. Bloomberg reported in May that OpenAI was working on a new search feature for ChatGPT, aiming to challenge Google and the AI search startup Perplexity. At that time, OpenAI was reportedly making efforts to recruit Google employees to assist in developing the new product, according to The Verge. In May, before Google unveiled its Gemini AI products at its annual developer conference, OpenAI was actively planning its search engine. Over the past year, OpenAI has formed partnerships with several prominent publishers, including the Associated Press, the Financial Times, News Corp (parent of The Wall Street Journal), Politico, and Axel Springer (parent of Business Insider). These collaborations enable OpenAI to utilize publishers’ content for enhancing search capabilities and training its AI models.

Amid these developments, OpenAI faces legal scrutiny. In December, The New York Times filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft, accusing them of “unlawful use” of copyrighted articles. The lawsuit claims that the AI models powering ChatGPT and Bing Chat (now Copilot) might produce outputs that replicate Times content verbatim, summarize it closely, or mimic its distinctive style. OpenAI has responded by filing a motion to dismiss parts of the complaint. The company argues that users do not utilize ChatGPT or other OpenAI products as a substitute for subscribing to The Times. The legal battle continues as the case progresses through the courts.

The launch of SearchGPT marks a significant moment for OpenAI as it seeks to make a substantial impact in the search engine market. The success of this new tool could pose a serious challenge to Google’s dominance, potentially reshaping the way people search for information online. As OpenAI continues to refine SearchGPT and integrate its features into ChatGPT, the tech industry will be watching closely to see how this new search engine performs and how it influences the broader market landscape.