On October 31st, OpenAI shook things up with an “October surprise”—the rollout of Search GPT. This new tool has the potential to be serious competition for Google, bringing a new level of intelligence to search.
They also introduced a Chrome Plugin which will switch your default browser search engine from Google to ChatGPT if you install it like I did.
When comparing OpenAI’s Search GPT to Google’s traditional search side-by-side, the differences may not seem striking at first glance. In many cases, the results are similarly effective, and one isn’t necessarily more impressive than the other.
However, the real potential lies not in direct comparison, but in the opportunity to rethink and revolutionize how we approach searching for information.
By fundamentally changing the search experience and reimagining how people interact with information, we can unlock entirely new ways of accessing deeper, more relevant, and more insightful results.
Interesting Findings with Search GPT
One interesting findings is that there are no ads with SearchGPT. While it finds and summarizes information from across the web, it will cite the source and do so without ads.
Another is that if you ask for data from Google such as reviews of a business – it will provide you with that. So it’s interesting that it seems to be taking data from a lot of different sources. This is where I see the value which I will talk about more later.
Side By Side Searches for “Best Family Law Attorney Near Me”
In this example I did a search on Google and ChatGPT for the Best Family Law Attorney Near Me.
In the SearchGPT example you will see it provides a list of attorneys but note that even though the highlighted names look like links, they are not. They do cite the sources underneath the results with a sources link that contains URLs to websites, but notably missing is a phone number or contact information.
But on some searches such as “family law attorney” we do get local results with local contact information.
Now compare this to Google results where we see paid results and then the traditional local results.
Pros and Cons
Here are some of the immediate pros and cons I see with a side by side comparison.
1. ChatGPT Results
Pros: ChatGPT’s response offers a curated list of family law attorneys, each with specific details like practice areas, years of experience, and highlights (e.g., free consultations, recognitions). This can be helpful for users looking for more personalized, summarized information quickly.
Cons: There are no live business information features such as contact buttons, maps, or direct access to reviews. Users would still need to search each firm separately for contact details or map locations, which adds a few extra steps.
2. Google Results
• Pros: Google Maps gives a visual overview of law firms in the area, allowing users to see locations, star ratings, and immediate contact options (e.g., call, website). This is useful for individuals who prioritize proximity and a quick comparison of ratings and reviews.
• Cons: It may lack the depth of specific service information found in the ChatGPT results. For those looking for specialized information about each firm, Google Maps may not provide enough immediate detail.
But The Real Value Comes When You Change How You Search
Honestly its not fair to compare apples to apples. These are two entirely different ways of information retrieval.
Lets change the query to what we actually may want to find out. Which for me is finding the top rated attorney based on data in my area. If I ask this to Google I just get Yelp results which are not that useful.
But if I do a similar search on SearchGPT I can see ratings from multiple websites side by side in a table. I personally find this very useful to do a comparison.
But Search GPT Is More Than a Traditional Search Engine
Search GPT is way more than a search engine. Here are some ways I have started to use it that you might find beneficial.
Search for a list of firms, addresses, phone numbers and websites and export into an excel sheet. I used this prompt:
Find me a list of 50 personal injury law firms in Chicago along with their phone numbers, addresses, and websites and give it to me in a CSV. The benefit here is that this could save you many hours of manual research.
Overall Thoughts
Overall, while Search GPT might not immediately seem like a groundbreaking replacement for Google, it shows substantial promise by shifting the search paradigm altogether.
Instead of traditional, ad-laden searches, Search GPT offers a streamlined, ad-free experience that pulls insights from a wide range of sources, making it particularly powerful for users needing consolidated, multi-source information.
This early version provides deeper, comparative insights that could greatly simplify research-intensive tasks, such as compiling lists or comparing ratings, and it’s already proving useful in ways Google may struggle to match.
By continuing to refine this more intelligent, user-centered approach, Search GPT could set a new standard in how we retrieve and interact with information online.
