Google has been the undisputed leader of the search engine market for a long time, but that might change soon. According to a recent report, OpenAI, the AI research company backed by Microsoft, is developing its own web search product that could challenge Google’s supremacy.
What is OpenAI and why is it a threat to Google?
OpenAI is a non-profit organization that aims to create artificial intelligence that can benefit humanity without causing harm or being controlled by a few. It was founded in 2015 by a group of prominent tech entrepreneurs and investors, including Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, Reid Hoffman, and Microsoft.
OpenAI is known for creating ChatGPT, a powerful AI system that can generate natural language texts on any topic, given a prompt. ChatGPT has been used for various applications, such as writing stories, poems, code, and even tweets in the style of celebrities.
OpenAI is also working on other AI projects, such as DALL-E, which can create images from text descriptions, and Codex, which can write and execute code from natural language commands.
One of the most ambitious projects that OpenAI is reportedly working on is a web search product that could rival Google. According to The Information, OpenAI’s search product could be partly powered by Microsoft’s Bing, which already integrates some of ChatGPT’s features.
OpenAI’s search product could leverage its advanced AI capabilities to provide more relevant, personalized, and diverse results than Google. It could also offer more transparency and privacy to users, as OpenAI claims to follow ethical and social values in its AI development.
How is Google responding to OpenAI’s challenge?
Google is not unaware of the potential threat that OpenAI poses to its search business. Google has been investing heavily in its own AI research and development, and has launched several AI-powered products and features, such as Google Assistant, Google Photos, Google Translate, and Google Lens.
Google has also been working on improving its core search engine with AI. In 2020, Google introduced BERT, a neural network-based technique that can understand the context and intent of natural language queries. BERT can handle complex and conversational queries better than previous methods, and can provide more accurate and relevant results.
Google has also been experimenting with Gemini, a new AI assistant that can generate natural language responses to queries, instead of showing a list of links. Gemini can also engage in a dialogue with users, and provide more information and suggestions based on their feedback. Gemini is currently available as a beta feature in Google’s Android app, and users can switch between Gemini and traditional search with a toggle.
Google has also been testing a new search interface called Search Generative Experience (SGE), which allows users to access Gemini and other experimental AI features, such as generating images, music, and code from text prompts. SGE is only accessible to users who sign up for it, and is not widely available yet.
What does this mean for the future of search?
The emergence of OpenAI’s search product could have a significant impact on the future of search, as it could challenge Google’s dominance and offer a new and different way of finding information online. OpenAI’s search product could also inspire other players, such as Perplexity AI, a startup that uses multiple AI models to provide written answers to queries, with sources and citations.
However, OpenAI’s search product is not yet ready for launch, and it is not clear how it will perform in terms of speed, accuracy, and user satisfaction. Google, on the other hand, has a huge advantage in terms of data, experience, and user base, and is not likely to give up its position easily.
The competition between Google and OpenAI could also have implications for the development and regulation of AI, as both companies have different visions and values for the future of AI. Google’s AI is driven by commercial interests and innovation, while OpenAI’s AI is guided by social and ethical principles and collaboration.
The rivalry between Google and OpenAI could lead to more innovation and diversity in the search market, but it could also raise questions and concerns about the power and responsibility of AI, and its impact on society and humanity.
