SearchGPT: A Game-Changing Search Engine

The launch of ChatGPT by the American company OpenAI in 2022 marked a major turning point in the digital world. Since then, OpenAI has continually pushed the boundaries of innovation by constantly adding new features to its artificial intelligence tool (image processing, sound integration, voice mode, image creation, etc.) The company made another big impact in December 2024 with the launch of SearchGPT, its very first intelligent search engine.

The arrival of SearchGPT puts OpenAI in direct competition with search giants like Google and Bing. Let's explore together this new search tool that could greatly redefine the way we conduct our online searches daily.

What is SearchGPT?

Developed by OpenAI, SearchGPT is based on an advanced language model capable of understanding and accurately responding to all sorts of queries.

While traditional search engines simply offer you links, SearchGPT goes further: it uses artificial intelligence to generate natural responses and guide you in your searches with increasingly accurate results based on the questions asked.

"With SearchGPT, ChatGPT can now search the web in a much better way than before. You can get fast, timely answers with links to relevant web sources, which you would have previously needed to go to a search engine for."

- OpenAI

Thanks to its innovative approach, this generative AI tool offers detailed and personalized results while directing users to relevant content, thus simplifying their search experience.

How to index your content on SearchGPT?

It is possible to reference your content on SearchGPT! This major innovation has also led to the creation of a new term: SAIO (Search Artificial Intelligence Optimization), which refers to all optimization practices aimed at improving placement on various artificial intelligence tools. However, the recommendations for indexing content on SearchGPT remain quite similar to those for Google.

9 recommendations for effective positioning on SearchGPT

1. Allow crawling by OAI-SearchBot:Ensure that the robots.txt file of your content allows access to OAI-SearchBot, the main crawling robot used by SearchGPT.
2. Optimize your presence on Bing:Several SEO specialists have noticed that the results of SearchGPT are closer to those of Bing. Good visibility on Bing thus increases the chances of appearing on SearchGPT.
3. Implement structured data: Using Schema.org markup allows search engines to better understand the content of your website.
4. Optimize your content: Make sure to produce quality content and regularly update the information in your old articles.
5. Publish on popular forums like Reddit, in channels related to your business sector. Such content is also taken into account by SearchGPT.
6. Work on your e-reputation: Being mentioned in reference articles can greatly improve your reputation and strengthen your brand's visibility online and on SearchGPT.
7. Focus on customer reviews by ensuring you get a maximum of positive reviews on various online platforms.
8. Optimize your local SEO: Just like traditional search engines, SearchGPT incorporates local search in its responses.
9. Optimize your FAQ pages: Having optimized questions and answers on your site can position it as a good source of responses, thus increasing its indexing on SearchGPT. Don't forget to use the ChatGPT autocomplete function to identify the most frequently asked questions.

Despite all these recommendations, a big question remains: How to measure the performance of your website on artificial intelligence tools? Indeed, to date, there is no reliable tool to accurately evaluate the effectiveness of your actions on these platforms.

Is SearchGPT reliable?

OpenAI has partnered with information providers from various sectors to offer more relevant and real-time search results. Such collaboration allows internet users to access diverse and current information, whether it's financial data, sports news, social trends, or stock market updates. Despite all these efforts, an analysis by the Tow Center, a journalism school at Columbia University, revealed several flaws in ChatGPT's search tool. Here are three of the main issues related to SearchGPT.

1. Poor source identification

Several flaws have been detected regarding the accuracy and reliability of information presented on SearchGPT. Out of 200 quotes tested by the Tow Center, the tool struggled to correctly identify the sources of information, even when publishers made their content available. The study reveals that in more than 75% of cases, ChatGPT did not attribute the correct source to the displayed information, clearly highlighting the current limitations of the tool in terms of precision in managing references.

I tested this myself by copying and pasting the content of one of my online articles and asking ChatGPT to indicate the source. Result: the tool failed to accurately identify the origin of the excerpt, thus demonstrating its limitations in tracing the exact source of content.

SearchGPT also proposed content sources that were no longer up-to-date and led to 404 errors, thus raising further questions about the reliability of the cited links.

2. Content plagiarism

ChatGPT's search tool has sometimes referenced plagiarized content in its search results by promoting sites that have copied articles from certain media outlets.

For instance, when asking ChatGPT to identify the source of a quote from a New York Times article (which is currently suing OpenAI over copyright issues), the tool redirects to a website called DMS Retail, which has plagiarized the entire original Times article. Such a situation raises several concerns among publishers, who fear that their work will no longer be quoted fairly and accurately.

3. Lack of precision for local search

SearchGPT currently shows less precision than Google for local searches. Therefore, it is important to be more specific and detailed when conducting a local search via the AI tool.

For example, when I asked SearchGPT to suggest restaurants near me, the tool recommended establishments located in Brossard while I reside in Longueuil! It would have been better to include the name of the city in my query.

Will SearchGPT replace Google or Bing?

By launching its own search engine, OpenAI aims to directly compete with major search engines like Google and Bing. The company thus offers a new way to navigate and conduct searches on the Web... but it still needs to convince internet users to change their search habits in favor of SearchGPT!

Google, for its part, still has bright days ahead. In 2024, the web giant recorded more than 8.5 billion daily searches and held nearly 90% of the global search engine market share. However, Google will need to innovate and adapt to new online search trends if it wants to compete with OpenAI and reach the next generations of users.

The battle between Google and OpenAI is officially underway: which of these two tools will prevail? Only the future will tell! In the meantime, we leave you with this quote generated by ChatGPT, which perfectly sums up the future of online search: 'Searching is no longer just about finding, it is now about dialoguing with information'.

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