ChatGPT rumored to take on Google with its own search engine

Nickolas Diaz
·2 min read
ChatGPT conversation screen on a smartphone.
ChatGPT conversation screen on a smartphone.

What you need to know

  • Evidence in OpenAI's SSL certificate logs suggests that the company is developing a ChatGPT-based search engine to rival Google.

  • The logs show that the company has a new "search.chatgpt.com" domain under its belt, further indicating such development.

  • OpenAI has continued to encroach on Google's space by attempting to plug ChatGPT into Android as a new default assistant option alongside a widget.

Rumors swirl about OpenAI potentially developing a ChatGPT-based search engine to take on Google.

Evidence of a possible ChatGPT Search stems from Ashutosh Shrivastava on X, who posted a photo of OpenAI's SSL certificate logs (via Search Engine Roundtable). The logs show that the company has a new "search.chatgpt.com" domain listed.

So, this alone seems to suggest that OpenAI is currently developing a search engine that would piggyback off the capabilities of its ChatGPT software.

The user on X added that OpenAI's CEO Sam Altman recently discussed AI and search in a podcast.

Another user on X, Apples_Jimmy, added to the initial discovery by speculating we could be on the cusp of OpenAI's search reveal. It's currently purported that the company could unveil ChatGPT's Search engine on May 9.

Google has continued to focus strongly on AI in Search, especially since welcoming Liz Reid as the service's new lead. Reid expressed a strong interest in funneling even more "SGE" and AI overviews into Search. The latter recently rolled out for the general public shortly after her new position took place in March.

Aside from these brief glimpses at OpenAI's potential development of a ChatGPT-based search engine, its features are still unknown.

However, the company is on a trend of encroaching on Google's space, such as with on-device AI assistance. It was spotted back in January that OpenAI was working on a way to add its AI bot into Android so users could make its version the default over Assistant (or, rather, Gemini). Since then, a new Android ChatGPT widget has been spotted, giving users easy access to its services.

The widget shows options for easy messaging with the bot, the ability to submit photos to it for information, and voice capabilities. It's not unlikely that a ChatGPT-based search engine would have these features, but more concrete ones during actual queries remain to be seen.

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