ChatGPT’s AI-powered search engine is now available to all users, starting last week. OpenAI announced the expansion during its latest “12 days of ship-mas” livestream, also unveiling an optimised mobile version and search capabilities within advanced voice mode.
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Originally launched for paid subscribers in October, the search function is now accessible to free users as well, requiring only a logged-in account.
The mobile search experience has been significantly enhanced to resemble a traditional search engine. When searching for locations like restaurants or local attractions, ChatGPT now displays a list of results with accompanying images, ratings, and operating hours. Users can tap on a location for more detailed information and even view a map with directions directly within the app.
Another improvement focuses on speed, particularly for searches targeting specific types of websites, such as “hotel booking websites.” Instead of immediately generating a full text response, ChatGPT will now prioritize surfacing relevant website links before providing further details about each option. Furthermore, ChatGPT can automatically provide up-to-date information from the web when using Advanced Voice Mode, although this feature remains exclusive to paid subscribers.
Previous “ship-mas” livestreams also saw OpenAI announce its text-to-image model, Sora, and the introduction of a $200 per month ChatGPT Pro subscription.
