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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.
This is how OpenAI explains it:
“We also plan to get feedback on the prototype and bring the best of the experience into ChatGPT.
…Please note that we plan to integrate the SearchGPT experience into ChatGPT in the future. SearchGPT combines the strength of our AI models with information from the web to give you fast and timely answers with clear, relevant sources.”
Is SearchGPT then a competitor to Google? The more appropriate question is if ChatGPT is building toward disrupting the entire concept of organic search.
Google has done a fair job of exhausting and disenchanting users with ads, tracking and data mining their personal lives. So it’s not implausible that a more capable version of ChatGPT could redefine how people get answers.
BrightEdge’s research discovered that SearchGPT’s strength was in facilitating trustworthy research. That makes even more sense with the understanding that SearchGPT is currently planned to be integrated into ChatGPT, not as a competitor to Google but as a competitor to the concept of organic search.
Takeaways: What SEOs And Marketers Need To Know
The major takeaways from the research can be broken down into five ways SearchGPT is better than Google AIO and Perplexity.
1. Diverse Authoritative Sources.
The research shows that SearchGPT consistently surfaces answers from authoritative and trustworthy sources.
“Its knowledge base spans academic resources, specialized industry platforms, official government pages, and reputable commercial websites.”
2. Comprehensive Answers
BrightEdge’s analysis showed that SearchGPT delivers comprehensive answers on any topic, simplifying them into clear, understandable responses.
3. Proactive Query Interpretation
This is really interesting because the researchers discovered that SearchGPT was not only able to understand the user’s immediate information need, it answered questions with an expanded breadth of coverage.
BrightEdge explained it like this:
“Its initial response often incorporates additional relevant information, illustrative examples, and real-world applications.”
4. Pragmatic And Practical
SearchGPT tended to provide practical answers that were good for ecommerce search queries. BrightEdge noted:
“It frequently offers specific product suggestions and recommendations.”
5. Wide-Ranging Topic Expertise
The research paper noted that SearchGPT correctly used industry jargon, even for esoteric B2B search queries. The researchers explained:
“This approach caters to both general users and industry professionals alike.”
Read the research results on SearchGPT here.
Featured Image by Shutterstock/Khosro