The new feature, SearchGPT, provides up-to-date information, including sports scores, financial data, news, and weather, through partnerships with major news and data providers.

ChatGPT’s search ability has been in testing since July. The rollout has now been extended to ChatGPT Plus, Team users, and waitlisted members, and it will be widely available in the coming months.

OpenAI’s search function arrives as Alphabet investors voice concerns that the rising popularity of ChatGPT, which has amassed a significant user base since its launch in November 2022, could erode Google’s market share.

Alphabet’s stock dipped a percent on Thursday as investors considered the potential impact of OpenAI’s announcement.

The launch also brings OpenAI into closer competition with Microsoft, despite Microsoft’s substantial investment in the startup, totalling nearly $14 billion. Microsoft has incorporated AI features into its Bing search engine and other tools, such as Copilot, but now faces OpenAI as both a partner and a competitor.

OpenAI's engineering VP, Srinivas Narayanan, confirmed that ChatGPT search relies on multiple services, including Microsoft’s Bing, stating, “We use a set of services, and Bing is an important one.”

OpenAI’s CEO, Sam Altman, also expressed excitement about the new feature, calling it his “favourite feature we have launched” and describing it as a “way faster/easier way to get the information I’m looking for.”
OpenAI designed the feature to allow users to interact in a natural, conversational manner.

Writing in its company bog, OpenAI said the model is built on GPT-4o, the company’s most powerful AI model. It draws on third-party search providers and content sourced from news industry partnerships.

Users can activate search by clicking a web search icon, while ChatGPT will automatically conduct searches based on prompts if needed.

The company stated that it will continue to refine SearchGPT, particularly for sectors such as shopping and travel, leveraging advanced reasoning capabilities from the OpenAI o1 series for in-depth research.

Each response will include a “Sources” button that reveals a sidebar with links to relevant articles and posts, allowing users to verify and explore information further. OpenAI has collaborated with leading publishers, including The Associated Press, Reuters, Axel Springer, Condé Nast, Dotdash Meredith, News Corp., and the Financial Times.