# What is SearchGPT, and how is AI search different from a list of links?

Date: 2024-07-26 · Author: Robert Scales · https://guidetoartificialintelligence.com/en/learn/what-is-searchgpt/

**Answer:** SearchGPT is a temporary prototype that OpenAI began testing on July 25, 2024, which answers questions in plain language using up-to-date information from the web and shows clear links to its sources. It is open to a small group of users and publishers for now, with a waitlist for everyone else, and OpenAI plans to fold the best parts into ChatGPT.

Yesterday, Thursday, July 25, 2024, OpenAI announced **SearchGPT**, a prototype search tool. Instead of handing you ten blue links, it writes a short answer to your question using current information from the web, then shows where each piece came from. You can follow up in conversation, the way you would with ChatGPT.

OpenAI is careful to call it temporary. It is a test with a small group of users and publishers, meant to gather feedback before the best ideas move into ChatGPT itself. Anyone else can join a waitlist.

## What OpenAI announced

The announcement has three parts:

- **A search prototype.** You type a question, and SearchGPT replies with a written answer, related photos and named, clickable sources. A sidebar lists more links if you want to dig further.
- **Follow-up questions.** The conversation keeps its context, so you can ask "what about on weekends?" after a question about museum hours without repeating yourself.
- **Controls for publishers.** Websites get a way to manage how they appear in SearchGPT. OpenAI also states that search is separate from training its models: a site can show up in SearchGPT results even if it has asked not to be used for training.

According to TechCrunch, SearchGPT runs on OpenAI's GPT-4o, GPT-4 and GPT-3.5 models. A support page explains that it shares your general location with third-party search providers, so a question like "restaurants near me" or "weather this weekend" gives local results; sharing a more precise location is an option you switch on in settings.

## How AI search works

A classic search engine works like a library catalog. It matches your words against an index of pages and returns a ranked list. Reading, comparing and summarizing is your job.

An AI search tool adds a reader on top of the catalog. In broad terms, it works in four steps:

1. **Understand the question.** The language model works out what you are really asking.
2. **Look it up.** The system searches the web for recent, relevant pages, which a model's training data alone cannot provide, since that data stops at a fixed date.
3. **Write the answer.** The model reads what it found and writes a short reply in plain language.
4. **Cite the sources.** Each part of the answer is tied to the page it came from, with in-line, named credit and a link.

The last step is what matters most for trust. A language model can produce fluent sentences that are wrong, an error often called a **hallucination**. Links let you check the claim against the original page.

Here is how the two approaches compare on one everyday question:

| Question: "Is the city pool open on Monday?" | Classic search | AI search (SearchGPT-style) |
|---|---|---|
| What you get | A list of pages, possibly including the city's site | A short answer such as "Yes, from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m." with a link to the city page |
| Your work | Open pages and find the hours yourself | Read the answer, then click the source to confirm |
| Follow-up | Type a new search | Ask "And on holidays?" in the same conversation |
| Main risk | Outdated pages near the top | A confident summary of the wrong page |

## Why it matters this week

Search is how most people find information online, and it is how publishers have reached their readers for decades. TechCrunch frames SearchGPT as OpenAI stepping into territory held by Google and Bing, and by newer AI search startups such as Perplexity. The Information reported back in February that OpenAI had such a product in the works.

It also arrives at a delicate moment. AI search tools have drawn criticism this year for mistakes and for summarizing articles without sending readers to the sites that wrote them. TechCrunch recalls that Google's AI Overviews once suggested putting glue on a pizza. Publishers worry that if people read the answer and never click, the sites that produced the information lose the traffic that pays for it.

OpenAI's response is to put sources up front and to build the tool with publishers. The Atlantic's chief executive, Nicholas Thompson, says in OpenAI's announcement that AI search should be built in a way that respects and protects journalism. News Corp's Robert Thomson also backs the partnership. Whether prominent links really send readers to publishers is one of the things this test will show.

> **Try it:** Take one question you searched for this week and write down the three facts you needed from it. When you try an AI search tool, check each fact against the linked source, and note whether the answer quoted the right page.

## How can you get access to SearchGPT, and what should you check in its answers?

For now, access is limited. OpenAI is letting a small group of users in and has a waitlist on its SearchGPT page for everyone else. It also asks publishers to send feedback, and says it will keep improving areas such as local information and shopping before bringing the best features into ChatGPT.

When you do use it, or any AI search tool, treat the answer as a helpful first draft of research. Click at least one source for anything that matters, especially prices, opening hours, medical or legal information, and anything about breaking news. Check that the page actually says what the summary claims, and look at the date on that page.

A good habit is to ask for the evidence directly:

```prompt
Answer my question in three sentences. After each sentence, name the source and its date. If sources disagree, say so.
```

That small instruction turns a smooth answer into one you can verify.

## Sources

- SearchGPT Prototype: https://openai.com/index/searchgpt-prototype/
- With Google in its sights, OpenAI unveils SearchGPT: https://techcrunch.com/2024/07/25/with-google-in-its-sights-openai-unveils-searchgpt/