OpenAI announced the launch of a new SearchGPT prototype amid reports that the company may face imminent financial difficulties, including the possibility of running out of funding within the next 12 months.
SearchGPT aims to power AI search capabilities by combining OpenAI's advanced models with real-time web information, aiming to provide users with fast, accurate answers with clear sources.
Currently, a limited group of users and publishers have access to the prototype for feedback, and there is a waiting list for additional users who want to try out the new features.
Financial difficulties
The move comes amid a report from The Information alleging that OpenAI could lose up to $5 billion this year due to heavy spending that “far exceeds” competitors such as Anthropic.
The report highlights that OpenAI's projected expenses this year include $7 billion for AI training and $1.5 billion for headcount, while Anthropic expects a burn rate of $2.7 billion in 2024.
The report said OpenAI's financial trajectory appears “unsustainable” without continued new investment: The company has already raised more than $11 billion in seven funding rounds and needs to secure additional funding to stay in business.
Despite looming financial and regulatory challenges, OpenAI remains committed to improving its AI search technology. The company hopes to continuously improve SearchGPT based on user and publisher feedback and integrate the best features into ChatGPT in the future.
Enhanced search
Traditional web searches often require multiple attempts to find relevant results. SearchGPT aims to streamline this process by providing answers directly from current web information, with clear attribution and links to the original source. Users can ask follow-up questions, resulting in a more interactive search experience.
OpenAI said it is committed to supporting publishers and creators, and that SearchGPT will prominently cite and link to publishers to make it easier for users to access original content. The move is intended to drive traffic to publishers' sites and provide users with more diverse search options. It also aims to alleviate some of the concerns raised by publishers and journalists in recent months.
OpenAI continues to innovate, recently announcing the “GPT-4o Mini” model and working on “Strawberry,” a model that it hopes will demonstrate advanced reasoning and more human-like responses.
But the company also faces regulatory scrutiny, with U.S. lawmakers recently opening an investigation into the company's safety standards and transparency.
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