Google dominates the web through its formidable search engine, which has become so famous that it's synonymous with looking for something online.
Through this very product, Google managed to build an empire, that looks at pretty much everybody else with a high chin. Its superiority on the web is pretty much unmatched, and that with Google Search, the company is self-assured, assertive, and proud.
But when OpenAI introduced ChatGPT, it shook the tech industry so much that it sent chills down Google's spine.
CEO Sundar Pichai said that it was a "code red," that he summoned the two Google founders to return.
The company knows that generative AI is a huge threat to Google's core business, and if utilized and developed properly, can be a great alternative, if not a replacement to Google Search.
And this time, that prophecy has come to reality.
OpenAI is testing a search engine it calls the 'SearchGPT', and if this doesn't scare Google, nothing will.
We’re testing SearchGPT, a temporary prototype of new AI search features that give you fast and timely answers with clear and relevant sources.
We’re launching with a small group of users for feedback and plan to integrate the experience into ChatGPT. https://t.co/dRRnxXVlGh pic.twitter.com/iQpADXmllH— OpenAI (@OpenAI) July 25, 2024
In the announcement, OpenAI said that:
As OpenAI's take on a search engine, its argument is that, "getting answers on the web can take a lot of effort, often requiring multiple attempts to get relevant results."
"We believe that by enhancing the conversational capabilities of our models with real-time information from the web, finding what you’re looking for can be faster and easier."
SearchGPT is designed to give users an answer, by quickly and directly respond to their questions with up-to-date information from the web while giving them clear links to relevant sources.
And because it's powered by OpenAI's Large Language Models, users can ask follow-up questions, with each follow-up question adding context to the query, pinpointing users to the answers they really need.
At heart, SearchGPT is designed to help users see answers they seek, from information published by publishers, and here SearchGPT will prominently cite them and link them in its search results.
SearchGPT's responses are designed to have clear, in-line, named attribution and links so users know where information is coming from, and so users can also quickly engage with even more results in a sidebar with source links.
i have been pleasantly surprised by how much i prefer this to old-school search, and how quickly i adapted.
join the waitlist here: https://t.co/sz5MNcEp1H
please let us know what you think!— Sam Altman (@sama) July 25, 2024
As a prototype, OpenAI is launching the product to only a small group of users and publishers, just to get feedback.
While this prototype is temporary, the company plans to integrate the best of these features directly into ChatGPT in the future.
coming soon in chatgpt! https://t.co/vKiyFe2t2a
— ChatGPT (@ChatGPTapp) July 25, 2024
When Google was founded back in 1998, it was called "BackRub," and it didn't have much to say.
The web was a lot smaller, and the startup was tiny. Its founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, were still undergraduate students, and that they had a long way to go, and lots to do.
The two founders never considered themselves hardcore coders at heart. But regardless, they envisioned something, and grabbed the opportunity. And this time, what they upbrought has successfully matured into something so phenomenal.
But OpenAI shows that even giants like Google can stumble if they cannot follow the trends and meet the demands.
Bard, which was later renamed to Gemini, is Google's answer to ChatGPT.
It's the product created by a team, that marked Brin's first involvement in the company, after years being absent.
And here, SearchGPT from OpenAI can be yet another threat to Google's empire.