No, OpenAI is not demoing ChatGPT search engine. Sorry.

OpenAI is getting serious about dethroning Google, as the Microsoft-backed company was rumored to launch a ChatGPT search engine. And now, the leading AI company revealed recently, on Friday, its plans for a live stream scheduled for Monday, May 13, 2023, at 10 AM PT aiming to “demo some ChatGPT and GPT-4 updates.” 

Unfortunately, though, it won’t be about the hotly-anticipated ChatGPT search engine. Sam Altman, OpenAI CEO, and Greg Brockman quickly shared on X that it won’t be either GPT-5 or a search engine. 

“But we’ve been hard at work on some new stuff we think people will love! Feels like magic to me,” Altman says.

Previous rumors suggest that OpenAI might unveil the search engine on May 9, but of course, that didn’t come to fruition. It’s said to be an extension of the popular AI chatbot, which can address the knowledge limit that ChatGPT has, especially the free, GPT-3.5 version. 

The rumors first stemmed from an industry insider who told Analytics India Mag that a search engine was on the way just ahead of the Google I/O event. But it’s not a complete fluke though: back in February, we reported (via The Information) that the ChatGPT search engine might use Microsoft Bing “for some of its functionality.” That’s doesn’t come off as surprising for one bit, as Microsoft had poured billions of dollars into OpenAI and lots of GPT integration with Copilot.

Alternatively, Google offers Gemini, formerly known as Bard, which can retrieve information from the internet and supports extensions such as YouTube, Google Flight, and Hotels. Microsoft’s Copilot, set to become a ubiquitous feature on Windows 11, also has internet access, adding an interesting dimension to the competition between this search engine rivalry.