Are Google’s days numbered? A ChatGPT-powered search engine would certainly speed things up, and a freshly minted domain points to its launch in the near future.
Google has seen unprecedented dominance over the search engine industry for decades, representing more than 91% of the market share in 2024. However, its Gemini chatbot hasn’t been able to keep up with the advancements of ChatGPT, with the latter being notably more popular than the former.
Now, ChatGPT could potentially be launching its own search engine, which might be the catalyst needed to finally unseat Google from the search engine throne.
Could ChatGPT Get a Search Engine?
While the technology has been rolled out to everything from CRMs to social media platforms, a ChatGPT search engine hasn’t popped up on the official update list.
However, one Reddit user spotted SSL certificates for a new domain, “search.chatgpt.com” that makes a pretty steadfast case for the idea of a ChatGPT search engine on the horizon.
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Even better, if you type in the URL, you won’t get a 404 error or any of the usual warning message you get when you type in a website that doesn’t exist. Instead, you get a cryptic “Not found.” in the upper left-hand corner. Not to be a conspiracy theorist, but that seems like all the information we need to make a clear deduction: ChatGPT search is coming.
Why Is ChatGPT Launching a Search Engine?
If you’ve utilized any generative AI technology in recent years, you understand how valuable it could be for search. It offers far more complex responses to basic queries, and it’s a lot more conversational in terms of the results it provides.
On top of that, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has been saying he wants to give it a try for at least a few months.
“The intersection of LLMs plus search, I don’t think anyone has cracked the code on yet. I would love to go do that. I think that would be cool.” – Sam Altman on the Lex Fridman Podcast in March 2024
Suffice to say, ChatGPT search engine is a no-brainer for the future of the technology, but the question is: will ChatGPT search be able to compete with Google?
The Downfall of Google?
The idea of Google not being the primary search engine for everyday users may have seemed unfathomable just a few short years ago. But the reality is that Google has been lagging behind OpenAI and Microsoft when it comes to AI, with the latter gaining ground on search with its Copilot-powered Bing search engine.
On top of that, Google has been losing substantial ground on search to the likes of Instagram and TikTok, with Gen Z users opting for social media for their queries, rather than outright search engines.
All that to say, the world’s most popular search engine is ripe for a removal from the top spot, and a ChatGPT search engine could be a means of facilitating the transition of power. But until it’s actually announced, Google isn’t going anywhere.
