Thu Feb 06 04:20:00 UTC 2025: ## ChatGPT Search Goes Public: OpenAI Challenges Google with Sign-Up-Free Access

**SAN FRANCISCO, CA** – OpenAI announced today that its ChatGPT Search is now available to all users without requiring an account. The move significantly lowers the barrier to entry for this AI-powered search engine, intensifying competition with long-time search giant Google and other AI chatbot rivals like Perplexity.

Launched in October 2024, ChatGPT Search offers a conversational approach to online queries, providing real-time information on topics like news, weather, and stock prices, unlike its predecessor, the standard ChatGPT chatbot, which relies on a pre-existing dataset. A key differentiator is ChatGPT Search’s transparent sourcing, displaying links to the websites it uses to compile its answers – a feature mirroring Perplexity’s functionality.

Users can access ChatGPT Search directly at chatgpt.com by clicking a “Search” button within the prompt box. The results include clearly marked sources, allowing users to verify information by visiting the original websites.

This development comes on the heels of OpenAI’s recent launches of Operator, an AI agent for automated web tasks, and Deep Research, an AI system for autonomous multi-step research. These launches solidify OpenAI’s position as a major player in the rapidly evolving field of AI-driven productivity tools. The company’s decision to make ChatGPT Search freely accessible suggests a strategic push to expand its user base and challenge established search engines’ dominance.

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