The business that created the immensely successful ChatGPT, OpenAI, is reportedly introducing its own search product, which is going to cause quite a stir in the world of search engines. Although OpenAI has not disclosed any information regarding these intentions, reliable rumours from industry insiders indicate that an announcement may happen soon.
The first clue was provided by “X,” a well-known tech expert on Twitter. They said that OpenAI planned to have a demonstration event for new services on May 9. This intriguing event would coincide with Google’s annual I/O developer conference, which is the week before the search giant usually unveils its newest hardware and software breakthroughs.
A credible leaker going by the name “Jimmy Apples” added fuel to the fire by disclosing further information. Jimmy claims that since January, OpenAI has been aggressively building up its events team, which culminated in the hiring of a specialised events manager only last month. This increased emphasis on events suggests something significant is being prepared for a June debut.
The hints don’t end there, though. Jimmy also reported that since late April, over 50 new “async subdomains” had been formed on OpenAI’s backend, indicating a rush of activity. The introduction of new, resource-intensive goods and services frequently comes before this kind of infrastructure expansion.
So what may this OpenAI search engine that has the potential to be revolutionary look like? Although specifics are few, the general themes are consistent with remarks made earlier by Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI. He has stated that he would want to combine the skills of conventional online search with the strength of big language models such as ChatGPT.
Altman, meanwhile, insisted that no OpenAI product would merely imitate market leaders like Google. Rather, he sees a whole new paradigm that facilitates users’ ability to “find, act on, and synthesise information” in a more intelligent and productive manner.
The CEO of Microsoft, Satya Nadella, has expressed a desire to fully incorporate OpenAI’s capabilities into the Bing search engine, which aligns with this audacious goal. The objective? to offer a respectable substitute for Google’s hegemonic control over search.
The impending release of an OpenAI search engine has the potential to drastically upend one of the internet’s most established and well-established industries, if the rumours are true. There would be significant ramifications for end consumers and businesses alike.
It would set up a high-stakes AI arms race among the internet titans as they intensify their efforts to create ever-more sophisticated language models and search functions. More significantly, though, it may radically rethink how we common humans interact with the enormous amount of information available online in our increasingly digitally enabled society.