It's happening - OpenAI has officially (finally?) released their own search engine. This means that, once again, the landscape of online search is being drastically revolutionised.This new AI-powered search engine aims to provide a conversational search experience, blending generative AI capabilities with a robust knowledge base. And with ChatGPT already having a major user base - 180.5 million users as of 2024 - the general consensus is that its search engine counterpart is going to shake things up. For ecommerce brands, it's crucial to understand how SearchGPT differs from traditional search engines and what opportunities and challenges it might bring. In this blog, we’ll take a look at what SearchGPT is, how it works, and what its implications could be for the future of online search.OpenAIWhat is SearchGPT?SearchGPT is OpenAI's latest venture into the world of search engines. Unlike conventional search engines like Google and Bing, which index pages and rank them based on complex algorithms, SearchGPT leverages conversational AI to engage users directly. It aims to provide answers to queries by understanding the context and the user's intent, rather than merely showing a "list of blue links". This allows for a more interactive and tailored experience.SearchGPT isn't just designed to give you answers - it’s built to understand your questions, clarify ambiguities, and even suggest follow-up queries. Essentially, it's like having a conversation with an AI assistant rather than interacting with a static list of search results.As of writing this blog, SearchGPT is currently only available to Business and Teams users, as well as a select few that opted in to the testing phase. OpenAI has plans to roll this out to all users in 2025. How Does SearchGPT Work?Conversational AI at Its CoreSearchGPT uses GPT-4, a generative AI model that is capable of understanding natural language, interpreting nuanced user queries, and delivering responses that feel human-like. It dra...