OpenAI is selectively launching SearchGPT, an artificial intelligence-based search engine with real-time access to information from the internet, moving into territory long dominated by Google.

The move, announced on Thursday, puts the AI ​​giant in competition with its biggest backer Microsoft's Bing search engine, as well as upstart services such as Perplexity, a search-focused AI chatbot company backed by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and semiconductor giant Nvidia. . OpenAI said it has opened registrations for the new tool, which is currently in the prototype phase and being tested with a small number of users and publishers. The company plans to integrate the best features of its search tool into ChatGPT in the future.

"OpenAI and Perplexity's AI-powered search tool reaffirms search as a model for content engagement, but it also pushes Google to be better at it on its own terms," ​​said Canaccord Genuity analyst Kingsley Crane. In a blog post, OpenAI said SearchGPT responds to user queries by providing summarized search results with source links. Users can also ask follow-up questions and receive contextual answers. The company offers publishers access to tools to control how their content appears in SearchGPT results. News Corp and The Atlantic are SearchGPT's publishing partners.