Researchers analyzed SearchGPT’s responses to queries and identified how it may impact publishers, B2B websites, and e-commerce, discovering key differences between SearchGPT, AI Overviews, and Perplexity.
What is SearchGPT?
SearchGPT is a prototype natural language search engine created by OpenAI that combines a generative AI model with the most current web data to provide contextually relevant answers in a natural language interface that includes citations to relevant online sources.
OpenAI has not offered detailed information about how SearchGPT accesses web information. But the fact that it uses generative AI models means that it likely uses Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG), a technology that connects an AI language model to indexed web data to give it access to information that it wasn’t trained on. This enables AI search to provide contextually relevant answers that are up to date and grounded with authoritative and trustworthy web sources.
How BrightEdge Analyzed SearchGPT
BrightEdge used a pair of search marketing research tools developed for enterprise users to help identify search and content opportunities, emerging trends and conduct deep competitor analysis.
They used their proprietary DataCube X and the BrightEdge Generative Parser™ to extract data points from SearchGPT, AI Overviews and Perplexity.
Here’s how it was done:
“BrightEdge compared SearchGPT, Google’s AI Overviews, and Perplexity.
To evaluate SearchGPT against Google’s AI Overviews and Perplexity, BrightEdge utilized DataCube X alongside BrightEdge Generative Parser ™ to identify a high-volume term and question based on exact match volumes. These queries were then input into all three engines to evaluate their approach, intent interpretation, and answer-sourcing methods.
This comparative study employs real, popular searches within each sector to accurately reflect the performance of these engines for typical users.”
DataCube X was used for identifying high-volume keywords and questions, all volumes were based on exact matches.
Each search engine was analyzed for:
Approach to the query
Ability to interpret intent
Method of sourcing answers
SearchGPT Versus Google AI Overviews
Research conducted by BrightEdge indicates that SearchGPT offers comprehensive answers while Google AI Overviews (AIO) provides answers that are more concise but also has an edge with surfacing current trends.
The difference found is that SearchGPT in its current state is better for deep research and Google AIO excels at giving quick answers that are also aware of current trends.
Strength: BrightEdge’s report indicates that SearchGPT answers rely on a diverse set of authoritative web resources that reflect academic, industry-specific, and government sources.
Weakness: The results of the report imply that SearchGPT’s weakness in a comparison with AIO is in the area of trends, where Google AIO was found to be more articulate.
SearchGPT Versus Perplexity
The researchers concluded that Perplexity offers concise answers that are tightly focused on topicality. This suggests that Perplexity, which styles itself as an “answer engine” shares the strengths with Google’s AIO in terms of providing concise answers. If I were to speculate I would say that this might reflect a focus on satisfaction metrics that are biased toward more immediate answers.
Strength: Because SearchGPT seems to be tuned more for research and on high quality information sources, it could be said to have an edge over Perplexity as a more comprehensive and potentially more trustworthy tool for research than Perplexity.
Weakness: Perplexity was found to be a more concise source of answers, excelling at summarizing online sources of information for answers to questions.
SearchGPT’s focus on facilitating research makes sense because the eventual context of SearchGPT is as a complement to ChatGPT.
Is SearchGPT A Competitor To Google?
SearchGPT is not a competitor to Google because OpenAI’s stated plans are to incorporate it into ChatGPT and not as a standalone search engine. SearchGPT’s official purpose is not as a standalone search engine but to be integrated into ChatGPT.