Trying ChatGPT’s SearchGPT made me realise I might soon never 'Google' anything ever again

OpenAI’s ChatGPT has already made waves as one of the most recognisable generative AI platforms, capturing attention and use worldwide. The ambition to integrate a search feature was long in the making and seen as a smart step towards balancing the platform’s uncanny, insightful responses with its occasional pitfalls — hallucinations and misinformation.

Now, with access to real-time web data, ChatGPT has evolved to a sharper, more reliable tool, sparking thoughts that perhaps traditional search engines might soon face a serious rival.

What sets ChatGPT’s search capabilities apart is its conversational approach, combined with its ability to keep track of context throughout a search session.

The experience isn’t just about finding information; it’s about engaging in an interactive discovery process. This exploration became possible when OpenAI rolled out what it dubbed “SearchGPT,” eventually integrating it with ChatGPT 4.0.

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Users with early access can activate Search by simply clicking the globe icon within the prompt box. Once switched on, this feature would remain active until manually turned off, offering a seamless shift into this enhanced search mode.

No more ad overload and cluttered interfaces
One clear advantage of ChatGPT’s search is the absence of ads. The interface stays clean, intuitive, and distraction-free, unlike Google’s current iteration, which is loaded with ads and links to various services.

Over time, Google Search has become somewhat unrecognisable from the version that charmed users in the 2000s. Now it serves as a launchpad for a myriad of Google’s other products and an engine for its relentless revenue needs.

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By contrast, ChatGPT’s focus remains on delivering concise, cohesive responses that synthesise information from reliable sources on the web.

The magic lies in the generative AI core of ChatGPT 4.0, making the search experience feel almost “aware.” It pieces together bits of data from different places into cohesive, easy-to-read overviews and remembers what users were discussing so that follow-up questions don’t require reiterating the initial query.

For instance, when exploring complex topics like the heaviest objects in the universe, ChatGPT not only provided a satisfactory answer but allowed me to ask follow-up questions, understanding what exactly I was looking for, all in a single thread. Google, on the other hand, couldn’t offer this kind of continuous dialogue without needing to start anew each time.

Seamless contextual searches
Another compelling aspect of ChatGPT search is its ability to maintain a seamless thread. Each query becomes part of an ongoing conversation, where users can scroll up to revisit previous questions and answers without losing track of the context.

This means no more backtracking or retyping the same question to refine the search results. It’s an experience that feels refreshingly modern and engaging.

However, not everything is perfect. During my exploration, I noticed that while ChatGPT search excelled in delivering text-based responses, it stumbled when it came to visual or map-based queries. For example, when I asked for directions from Noida to Nehru Place, it provided a detailed step-by-step guide on using the Delhi Metro, without considering other options like driving or taking a taxi.

When prompted for a map, ChatGPT search could only supply images of the Delhi Metro map from the DMRC and a link to the official DMRC website.

But when I asked for a road map, it directed me to a Google Maps link where I had to input the starting and ending points myself, and threw in some unrelated images of Nehru Place that weren’t interactive or helpful.

This highlights a significant limitation in ChatGPT’s current search capabilities. While it can pull useful information and make intelligent connections, the platform lacks the comprehensive, integrated mapping and navigation tools that Google has mastered. Google’s ecosystem connects with Maps, Drive, and a host of other apps, offering users a one-stop search experience that ChatGPT is yet to replicate.

The future of search
It’s worth acknowledging that while ChatGPT search feels polished, it’s not ready to dethrone Google just yet. OpenAI’s knowledge graph and data integration aren’t as extensive as Google’s, which has spent decades refining its algorithms and weaving its various services into one another.

Google remains the default search choice for most, practically synonymous with searching the internet itself. Meanwhile, ChatGPT, though gaining attention, hasn’t reached that level of ubiquity or reliability.

Despite this, the introduction of ChatGPT search does suggest a future where traditional search engines may need to rethink their strategies. ChatGPT’s seamless, context-aware conversations are something that Google, with all its AI overviews and efforts to modernise search, has yet to fully replicate.

ChatGPT presents a cleaner, more user-friendly way of exploring information, making it a refreshing alternative, even if it’s not without its flaws.

For now, I’ll likely return to using Google out of habit, especially when I need comprehensive results backed by its full arsenal of tools. But ChatGPT’s search has shown that there’s potential for a shift.

If OpenAI continues to develop and refine its offering — maybe even with an easy-to-use Chrome extension that sets it as the default search engine — it might just carve out a new niche in how we navigate the web. Whether Google will be concerned remains to be seen, but the tech landscape is surely watching with interest.