ChatGPT-parent, OpenAI has reportedly been developing a web search tool that could give Alphabet Inc.’s GOOG GOOGL Google a run for its money, something that Microsoft Corporation MSFT has been trying to do for ages.
What’s Going On: According to a source cited by The Information, OpenAI is in the process of developing a web search tool, with support from Bing, to offer more direct competition to Google.
Yet, it’s still unclear whether this tool will function independently or be integrated into ChatGPT, reported The Verge.
The development came a year later. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, who supports OpenAI, took aim at Google Search by incorporating Copilot AI tools into Bing.
Why It Matters: Microsoft Bing and Alphabet’s Google Search have an age-old rivalry.
In April last year, it was reported that Google employees were in a state of “panic” upon learning that Samsung Electronics Co, Ltd was contemplating substituting Google Search with Microsoft’s Bing AI as the primary search engine on its devices. However, Samsung later decided to continue its deal with Google.
Having said that, the integration of AI hasn’t notably shifted Bing’s struggle for relevance since its inception in 2009.
In January this year, it was reported that even after nearly a year, Bing’s share of the global search market has seen only a slight uptick to 3.4%. This is despite the incorporation of OpenAI’s generative AI technology.
Although the integration partially reversed this decline. In the U.S., the number of monthly active users more than doubled in the second quarter of 2023, and by the end of the year, Bing’s monthly active user count had steadily risen to 4.4 million.
Google continues to retain a dominant market position, with over 90% of the share. It is also the default search engine on Apple devices.
Apart from Google, Bing, and Yahoo – the three biggest search engines in the world- new players have also started working on gaining a share of the search behemoth’s pie.
Previously, AI search engine startup, Perplexity AI CEO Aravind Srinivas expressed confidence in its product generative AI search capabilities to rival giants like Google Bard and OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
Last month, The Browser Company introduced an iOS app, Arc Search, that combines a browser, search engine, and AI to provide a unique search experience.
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