Will OpenAI new SearchGPT revolutionize search?

By Jeff Kagan August 6, 2024

Collected at: https://www.rcrwireless.com/20240806/ai-ml/kagan-will-openai-new-searchgpt-revolutionize-search

Will SearchGPT help or hurt Google, Safari, DuckDuckGo search?

How will the new OpenAI SearchGPT impact the search industry? Search has been around for decades from a wide variety of companies with big dreams. Then, when Google entered the space, they were faster and offered much more, so they ultimately became the top search engine. Since that time, Google Search has only gotten better, stronger and bigger. They have also spread to many other areas. So, how will Google and other search engines be impacted by SearchGPT?

Search is an important sector, and is continually changing and is very competitive. To compete, many smaller competitors like Apple Safari and DuckDuckGo claim to protect user privacy. 

What can we expect next with SearchGPT and AI from OpenAI?

Today, OpenAI is working on their SearchGPT prototype with AI. This will impact and potentially transform the entire search industry. 

So, will SearchGPT replace Google? Will Google use it? Will they come up with their own version? What about the other search engines like Safari, DuckDuckGo and Firefox?

These are some of the many questions we are wrestling with today. SearchGPT may someday take the lead, but early versions will have plenty of problems to iron out and AI is still in its infancy.

At this early stage, AI is still fraught will errors. Sometimes it is correct. Other times it is not. And there is no way for the user to tell the difference, unless they really know the truth. 

OpenAI will continually improve AI and SearchGPT

OpenAI on their web site explains how they are developing SearchGPT. They say this is a prototype with new AI search features and that it gives users fast and timely answers with clear and relevant sources. 

This sounds like traditional search. That also means to expect glitches in these early days. 

SearchGPT sounds very interesting. Most new technology does. Especially when it’s brand new.

That being said, one way or the other, there is always a slant to the results. That slant comes from programming. Programming is done by people. So, we must expect AI to develop the slant of those who program it. That makes sense. 

AI gives one-sided answers

That is an obvious issue to deal with. Many questions have no single answer. It depends on your perspective. Users want the entire answer, not one side or the other.

So, how do we solve this problem? We come up with a type of technology which accounts for the slant, and corrects it making it neutral, fair and unbiased? Or do we let different companies with different slants develop their own competing search engines? Sort of like we do with social networks.

If there are competing search technologies, users would have to know the slant of each and then make a choice.

As you can see, these are exciting times, and confusing times. So, as we go along for the ride, let’s just keep our eyes open and make no assumptions on the results. 

All that being said, if OpenAI is developing SearchGPT, I fully expect competitors to develop their own versions. It will be interesting to see the directions new search engines lean.

These are the new rules of the road today. These are clearly exciting times we live in.