OpenAI is preparing to unveil its new artificial intelligence-powered search engine on Monday, aiming to challenge Google’s (NASDAQ:GOOGL) dominance in the search market. The announcement date is tentative and has not been previously disclosed. The strategic move is an extension of OpenAI’s successful ChatGPT, which will now be able to pull information directly from the web and include citations.
The development is seen as a direct competitor to NASDAQ: Alphabet Inc.’s GOOGL Google, as well as Perplexity, an AI search startup with significant funding and a valuation of $1 billion. Perplexity, founded by a former OpenAI researcher, has made waves with its AI-native search interface that provides citations in its results and integrates images with text responses. The startup boasts 10 million monthly active users, as mentioned in a January blog post.
ChatGPT, OpenAI’s conversational chatbot, has been recognized as a potential alternative to online information retrieval. However, it has faced challenges in providing accurate and up-to-date web information. To address this, OpenAI previously integrated with Microsoft’s (NASDAQ:MSFT) Bing search engine for paid subscriptions. Meanwhile, Google is not standing still, announcing AI features for its search engine.
OpenAI's ChatGPT quickly grew in popularity, reaching 100 million monthly active users shortly after its launch in late 2022. Despite this, the app has seen its web traffic fluctuate over the past year but is now seeing a resurgence to levels comparable to its peak in May 2023, according to analytics firm Similarweb NYSE: SMWB. This volatility has put pressure on OpenAI to grow its user base even further.
The company’s previous attempt to integrate real-time, real-time information into ChatGPT through a feature called the ChatGPT plugin was discontinued in April, as noted on OpenAI’s help center. The upcoming announcement is expected to come just a day before Google’s annual I/O conference kicks off on Tuesday, where the tech giant is expected to unveil a slew of AI-related products.
Source: Investing
