OpenAI, the company behind the popular AI chatbot ChatGPT, has officially launched "ChatGPT Search," a new AI-powered search engine that allows users to find information through conversation rather than traditional keyword searches. This move marks a direct challenge to Google, the world's largest search engine.

In a statement released on Monday, OpenAI said, "ChatGPT can now search the web in a much better way than before." The company announced the official launch of the search function within ChatGPT.

ChatGPT Search is accessible through the ChatGPT website. It leverages partnerships with news and data providers to offer users not only the information they seek but also the latest sports scores, stock prices, news headlines, and weather updates.

One of the most significant features of ChatGPT Search is its ability to find information through natural language conversation. Unlike traditional search engines like Google, where users need to input specific keywords and click through multiple links, ChatGPT Search allows users to obtain information through a more conversational approach.

OpenAI explained, "Finding helpful answers on the web can be a lot of work. Often, it takes multiple searches and digging through links to find a good source and the right information. Now, you can get better answers through chat. Ask your questions in a more natural and conversational way, and ChatGPT will respond using the information it found on the web."

Users can also ask follow-up questions to delve deeper into a particular topic. ChatGPT takes into account the entire context of the conversation to provide relevant search results. Additionally, users can manually trigger a search by clicking on the web search icon.

The search results include "citations" such as news articles or blog posts, similar to the approach taken by search startup Perplexity, which has been rapidly gaining market share in the AI-powered search sector. To achieve this, OpenAI has partnered with news organizations including The Associated Press, Reuters, Financial Times, News Corp, Le Monde, Time, and Vox Media.

The launch of ChatGPT Search raises the question of whether AI-powered search engines can disrupt Google's dominance. As of September, Google held a 90% share of the global search market, although this has slightly decreased from 91.58% a year ago.

OpenAI stated, "By integrating search into the chat interface, we believe users will engage with information in new ways, and content creators will have new opportunities to reach a wider audience."

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