Most people rely on search engines, specifically Google, to find the most recent information about the world around them, and until now, that process has remained relatively efficient. However, artificial intelligence (AI) and natural language processing (NLP) can make finding what you need even easier.
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Most of us have learned how to enter specific terms when searching for something on Google so that it can output the desired information. However, instead of entering a structured sentence with keywords into Google, you can enter a rambling sentence into ChatGPT Search and still get great results.
Sound too good to be true? Here’s everything you need to know.
What is ChatGPT Search?
Last week, OpenAI unveiled ChatGPT Search, which lets users search the web directly within ChatGPT for timely, up-to-date information, complete with citations linked to sources. The tool can be called on manually or activated whenever a user prompt could benefit from web-based information.
With ChatGPT Search, you can enter your sentence as your train of thought takes you, and the AI will understand the meaning of your query by leveraging its NLP capabilities. This means you can spend less time crafting a tailored search query but still get exactly what you want.
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Furthermore, the responses you get are conversational, reading the same way as if a human were talking to you. This makes the process effortless, allowing you to quickly get your results without clicking on many articles to find the specific part you need.
If you want a traditional search engine result page, the answers include in-text citations and a button that says “sources”, which, when clicked, will populate a long list of links on the right-hand bar. ChatGPT Search will also populate a couple of search result links underneath the answer so that you can easily visit links without even having to click anything.
It is important to note sites that block OpenAI’s web crawler will not appear in the search results, so you may be missing content from some of your favorite sites.
However, OpenAI has several partnerships with reputable news outlets, including the Associated Press, Condé Nast, Dotdash Meredith, Financial Times, Hearst, Reuters, The Atlantic, Time, and Vox Media. Many other websites have also opted to be included in the ChatGPT source.
ChatGPT Search vs. Google
I entered three search queries into Google and ChatGPT. The first query was straightforward: “When is Daylights saving time?” Since it is a straightforward question, both entities produced nearly identical results, showing the dates and a brief description:
Even though there is no clear winner in this challenge, it is a good example of how well ChatGPT matches Google, which has been the most predominant search engine for over a decade.
For the second question, I asked, “My friend was talking about a brunette singer-actress on Disney Channel who made a movie called Monte Carlo. Who was she talking about?” I tried keeping the search query as conversational as possible in this prompt:
In these results, ChatGPT did a better job and immediately named Selena Gomez. The tool even restated my question in its answer and added helpful context. All Google could do was populate an excerpt from Selena Gomez’s Wikipedia page. The excerpt doesn’t even name her by first name; it’s not until you look at the page name that the result refers to Selena.
Lastly, I asked both searches a harder prompt to “plan a seven-day vacation to Ireland, where I stay mostly in the countryside.” Google’s results were just a page of results with links. ChatGPT gave me a planned, day-by-day itinerary with specific locations and activities.
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However, ChatGPT didn’t automatically give me links or a call in the search feature. So, I slightly tweaked the initial prompt to say “with links” at the end and received a tailored response that included an itinerary with links to the sites and where to book:
In this test, there was a clear winner, as one tool created a detailed itinerary with links to more information on each site and where to book, whereas the other tool led me to other sites, where I had to find out which was the most useful by trial and error.
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These results don’t mean Google is rendered useless. I picked these examples to show ChatGPT’s strengths over Google, including daily searches for general topics. Google still has some advantages, such as shopping and maps, which ChatGPT isn’t ready to tackle. However, for everyday search queries, ChatGPT seems like the easiest way to quickly find the answers to what you want.
ChatGPT Search availability
The search experience is available on the ChatGPT website, desktops, and mobile apps for all ChatGPT Plus, Team users, and SearchGPT waitlist users. The ChatGPT Plus subscription costs $20 monthly and comes with other perks, such as the new Voice Mode, Canvas, and unlimited image generation. Enterprise and Edu users will receive access in the upcoming weeks, and free users will receive access in the coming months.