Already a dominant force in the artificial intelligence space, OpenAI could be gearing up to take on tech titans like Google in the realm of web search. Recent rumors and purported leaks have fueled speculation that the company behind the wildly popular ChatGPT is developing an AI-powered search engine to challenge Google’s long-standing dominance and potentially eclipse the emerging AI search tool, Perplexity.
The tantalizing prospect of an OpenAI-powered search engine first surfaced in February when reports suggested that the company was working on a search app aimed at Google’s core competency. More recently, a well-known leaker in the AI community, using the pseudonym Jimmy Apples, asserted that OpenAI could announce a new search engine soon, citing a flurry of new domain name records emanating from chatgpt.com.
If OpenAI does indeed launch an AI-powered search engine, it would not only challenge Google’s dominance in web search but also immediately dwarf Perplexity, an AI search engine that has gained a reputation in the AI space and attracted major investments. With ChatGPT already boasting an impressive 1.6 billion visits per month, just 17 months after its launch, an OpenAI search engine could potentially disrupt the web search landscape significantly.
While OpenAI has yet to make an official announcement regarding the development of a search engine, the mounting evidence and the company’s chief, Sam Altman’s, enthusiasm for the space suggest that an AI-powered search engine from OpenAI could be more likely than not, setting the stage for a potential showdown with industry giants and emerging players alike.
