When OpenAI launched ChatGPT in 2022, it set off alarms at Google headquarters about what OpenAI's artificial intelligence (AI) tool could mean for Google's lucrative search business. Now, those fears appear to be coming true, as OpenAI will make a surprise announcement next week that could revolutionize the world of search forever.
According to Reuters, OpenAI plans to launch a Google search competitor that would be powered by its large language model (LLM) technology. The big scoop here is the date OpenAI has apparently set for the presentation: Monday, May 13.
Interestingly, that's just one day before the gigantic Google I/O 2024 show, which is usually one of the biggest Google events of the year. Google often uses the event to promote its latest advances in search and artificial intelligence, so it will have little time to react to whatever OpenAI decides to reveal the day before.
The timing suggests that OpenAI is really aiming for Google's crown and aims to eclipse the search giant on its own turf. Therefore, the stakes could not be higher for both companies.
OpenAI vs. Google
We've heard rumors before that OpenAI has an AI-based search engine up its sleeve. Bloomberg, for example, recently reported that the OpenAI search engine will be able to extract data from the web and include citations in its results. Meanwhile, news outlet The Information has made similar claims that OpenAI is “developing a web search product,” and there has been a near-constant stream of whispers to this effect for months.
But even without the direct leaks and rumors, it's been clear for some time that tools like ChatGPT present an alternative way of getting information to more traditional search engines. You can ask ChatGPT to get information on almost any topic you can think of, and it will show you the answers in seconds (albeit sometimes with factual inaccuracies). ChatGPT Plus can access information on the web if you are a paid subscriber, and it looks like it will soon be joined by OpenAI's dedicated search engine.
Of course, Google isn't going down without a fight. The company has been rolling out updates to its Gemini chatbot, as well as incorporating several AI features into its existing search engine, including AI-generated responses in a box on the results page.
No one knows if the OpenAI search engine will be enough to topple Google, but it's clear that the company's success with ChatGPT has led Google to radically rethink its search offering. Next week we could have a clearer idea of what the future of search will look like.
