OpenAI Enhances ChatGPT Search with Advanced Features, Challenging Google's Dominance

ChatGPT search just got smarter - but can it replace Google for you yet?

With the latest update, ChatGPT search promises to be more intelligent, better understand what you ask, and deliver more comprehensive answers. Watch out, Google. OpenAI has beefed up its ChatGPT search tool to try to win over more people. And it may be working. In a new support article published last Friday, OpenAI described a recent upgrade designed to improve the quality and performance of its search option. In general, ChatGPT search has been enhanced to provide more comprehensive and up-to-date responses. Based on its own testing, OpenAI said that users preferred the new search process over the previous experience. (Disclosure: Ziff Davis, ZDNET's parent company, filed an April 2025 lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.) Also: You can access ChatGPT Search without an account now - here's how And just what are all the new features that people seem to prefer? ChatGPT search now offers more intelligent responses, is better able to grasp what you're asking, and serves up more comprehensive answers. The AI's search mode is better equipped to handle longer conversations, so you can explore your topic more deeply. Plus, it can more adeptly follow your instructions, especially in a longer conversation, which OpenAI said dramatically reduces repetitive responses. There's more. You can now kick off multiple searches at the same time and even search the web for information on an uploaded image. Still, there are a few hiccups with the updated search. You may find that the AI delivers longer responses than it would previously. In some instances, ChatGPT might display a "chain of thought" reasoning, even for simple searches. This means the AI will break down a question or topic into individual chunks before it arrives at a final answer. That's a helpful process for a complex problem, but not for a simple query. As always, though, OpenAI warns that ChatGPT may make mistakes and cautions you to double-check its responses. Nipping at Google's heels, OpenAI unveiled ChatGPT search last October. The option not only provides timely and up-to-date information, but also displays links to all the online sources used. The search feature automatically kicks in based on your prompt, but you can also manually enable it by clicking the search button. Also: Google's AI Mode may be the upgrade Search desperately needs - how to try it for free Is ChatGPT Search worth using over Google? If we're comparing ChatGPT search with conventional Google Search, then the answer would be yes. But Google is no slouch in the AI department, having integrated Gemini into its regular search tool. At Google's search engine, you can now choose an AI mode through which Google summarizes the results from different sources and can engage with you in a back-and-forth conversation. I've investigated the same topics with both ChatGPT search and Google Search with AI Mode. Both delivered the goods. But in general, I preferred the way ChatGPT presented the results and fostered a conversation to explore the subject. As OpenAI continues to enhance ChatGPT search, you no longer need to rely just on Google. Instead, take both search tools for a spin to see which one you like better. Get the morning's top stories in your inbox each day with our Tech Today newsletter.

ChatGPT Search gets an upgrade as OpenAI takes aim at Google

On June 13, OpenAI began rolling out a new ChatGPT Search update to improve quality as the AI startup challenges Google's dominance. ChatGPT Search has been around for about a year and allows users to search the web more effectively than Google. It tries to summarize content from websites to provide quick answers and includes links to sources so you can fact-check everything. "This blends the benefits of a natural language interface with the value of up-to-date sports scores, news, stock quotes, and more," OpenAI noted in the original ChatGPT Search announcement post. According to updated release notes spotted by BleepingComputer, ChatGPT Search can now provide more comprehensive, up-to-date responses. OpenAI won't say how it improved ChatGPT Search, but the company found that users prefer these changes over the previous search experience. After the June 13 update, you can expect ChatGPT Search to give smarter responses, understand your queries better, and provide more comprehensive answers. It can also remember longer conversations, which helps improve search results. "More robust ability to follow instructions, especially in longer conversations, significantly reducing repetitive responses," OpenAI noted. However, like every other AI model, including Google Search's AI Overviews, OpenAI warns that ChatGPT may still make occasional mistakes and asks you to double-check responses.

OpenAI just gave ChatGPT a search boost -- and it's coming for Google

OpenAI just rolled out a major upgrade to ChatGPT Search, and it's a bold step closer toward dethroning traditional search engines. Now available, the new version of ChatGPT Search can interpret more complex questions, run multiple search queries at once and even handle visual inputs like screenshots. Combined with better memory and voice tools in GPT-4o, it's starting to look a lot like the kind of all-purpose search assistant Google's been trying to build, but in chatbot form. ChatGPT Search and Google AI Overviews take different approaches to answering queries. Google AI Overviews pull from existing web content to generate summarized answers at the top of search results, often quoting or paraphrasing websites. In contrast, ChatGPT Search blends AI-generated responses with live web results from trusted sources, offering a more conversational experience. While Google favors brevity and directness, ChatGPT provides more context, personalization and reasoning. ChatGPT also allows follow-up questions in a chat format, making it feel more interactive. Google is still a traditional search engine with AI layered on top -- ChatGPT is search reimagined through conversation. With every prompt, responses feel sharper and more confident, with less of the filler or second-guessing I used to get. It's like the model knows what I'm asking before I finish typing, which is without a doubt the upgraded memory in ChatGPT Plus. ChatGPT Search is free for everyone, but Plus, Team and Pro users may experience even more of a streamlined search than those using the free tier. Google Search still dominates traditional queries, especially for quick facts, maps, shopping, or local recommendations. Environmentally, it uses less energy, which is why it might be the better option for short queries. But if you want any of the following, ChatGPT Search just got a lot more competitive: And while OpenAI says it's not trying to "kill Google," CEO Sam Altman admitted earlier this year that he doesn't use Google anymore. In this not-so-subtle statement, the CEO has made it clear that search habits are shifting. ChatGPT Search has become a legit search companion. More than a chatbot with search capabilities, the AI has the ability to understand what you're really asking and how best to answer. While Google is still the default for millions, this recent update from OpenAI shows that the tech giant is aiming higher and getting closer to Google. Do you use ChatGPT or Google for your searches? What is your deciding factor? Let us know in the comments!

OpenAI updates ChatGPT Search with better answers and live data

OpenAI initiated the rollout of a ChatGPT Search update on June 13, aimed at enhancing the quality of its search capabilities. This update positions the AI startup to compete with Google in the search engine market. ChatGPT Search, available for approximately one year, is designed to provide more effective web searches compared to Google. The tool summarizes content from websites to deliver concise answers and includes links to original sources for verification. According to OpenAI's initial announcement, ChatGPT Search combines "the benefits of a natural language interface with the value of up-to-date sports scores, news, stock quotes, and more." Release notes indicate that ChatGPT Search is now capable of delivering more comprehensive and current responses, especially when surfacing news items. OpenAI has not disclosed the specific methods used to improve ChatGPT Search; however, the company stated that user preference testing favored the updated search experience. The update is intended to enable ChatGPT Search to provide smarter responses, better understand user queries, and deliver more complete answers. Hackers used ChatGPT to fake resumes The updated system has an enhanced ability to maintain context over longer conversations. According to OpenAI, this "more robust ability to follow instructions, especially in longer conversations," reduces the frequency of repetitive responses. OpenAI cautions that, like other AI models, ChatGPT Search may still make occasional errors. The company advises users to independently verify the accuracy of responses.

ChatGPT Will Now Let You Search the Web With an Image

OpenAI quietly improved ChatGPT's web search-based responses last week. The San Francisco-based artificial intelligence (AI) firm has improved both the quality of responses and its instruction-following ability. Additionally, the web search tool can also handle longer, and more complex queries. Another interesting improvement comes to image-based web searches. OpenAI says the chatbot can now take an image of an object and find information from publicly listed websites. Notably, last week the company also expanded the features in ChatGPT's Projects feature and made Canvas downloadable. In its changelog posted on June 13, the AI giant listed several improvements to web search that users can now access. OpenAI's native search engine was rolled out to all users in October 2024, and since then, the company has consistently increased both its capabilities as well as rate limit. With the latest update, web search in ChatGPT will provide more up-to-date and comprehensive information to users. A particular focus area was the quality of responses. The company says the web search tool is now better at understanding the intent behind a user query, and can tailor its responses accordingly. Additionally, it can also handle longer conversational contexts, which means even if the direct prompt does not capture what the user wants, ChatGPT can find it from the conversation leading to the query. The latter is a result of the improved memory function, which the company recently rolled out. OpenAI has been integrating this capability in different ChatGPT features, with the most recent example being Projects. Projects in ChatGPT can now reference past projects in conversations. Apart from this, web search is now also better at following instructions. This will be more evident in longer conversations where the chatbot can now narrow down the scope of the query based on what the user said. OpenAI says this will reduce repetitive responses. Another interesting upgrade is the feature's ability to run multiple searches for a single query. The chatbot can now draw out more information by also running searches for additional topics, wherever necessary. Finally, ChatGPT can now also run web searches based on an image uploaded by the user. Gadgets 360 staff members tested out the feature, and it was able to correctly identify the object in the image and find answer to the query added alongside the image. OpenAI also listed the current limitations and issues with the feature. Currently, users can experience a longer wait time before the response is generated. Additionally, the AI might opt for transparent chain-of-thought (CoT) for even simple queries. Notably, CoT denotes the model is using reasoning ability, which is typically kept for only complex queries. The company might fix these issues in the near future.