Search GPT Launches: How does it compare to Google?
The progression of AI has been clear for all to see in the last 18 months and it is making waves in the search marketing space. Google officially launched AI overviews in May 2024, and as we come to the close of the year, Search GPT has now launched, and those in SEO have taken notice.
Key Headlines:
- Responses can differ dramatically from search to search, even if the query is the same
- SearchGPT can list multiple instances of the same URL/Domain within results
- Sometimes it will get numbers and data points confused in a similar way to ChatGPT
What does OpenAI say about SearchGPT?
SearchGPT is being defined as a new way to search by OpenAI. According to them, by introducing more ‘conversational ability’ within search engines, more nuanced answers can be uncovered in a more timely fashion, Or in ChatGPT’s words:
“ChatGPT and SearchGPT serve distinct purposes. ChatGPT generates text based on pre-existing knowledge, excelling in conversational responses but lacking real-time updates. SearchGPT, in contrast, fetches current information from the web, providing real-time, sourced answers that include citations, making it ideal for up-to-date inquiries.”
SearchGPT now has the ability to crawl the web based on an updated index that is more regularly refreshed than the previous iterations of ChatGPT. We tried seeing if the updated model would let us know how often it was updated, but unfortunately, it is unwilling to go rogue and disclose it.
Either way, the new search feature means it can crawl more regular information; but how does this compare to Google and Bing? Our initial analysis provides some of the latest data and our key first thoughts:
1. Some inaccuracies may occur for different searches
As is often the case with AI, inaccuracies can occur. When we did some testing for results relevant to Varn, we found that map listings often occurred, but it also offered the option to show them as a list. The data from the map appears to be crawled from Google:
The information looked good initially, but there were some errors. The domain listed referenced Varn’s old domain, so we tried to pull SearchGPT up on this, and it promptly assured us it was an oversight and wouldn’t happen again:
In addition to this, SearchGPT also confused Varn’s business registration number for the phone number, we asked it to be corrected but got caught down a rabbit hole of the same responses, something that, in our experience, rarely happens in ChatGPT:
This does beg the question, can you offer live feedback for incorrect information in SearchGPT? These models are continuously learning, but it’s early days so far.
2. Results can vary between search engines and AI models
When comparing SearchGPT to Google and Bing, we can see wide variations for various searches between the 3 platforms. This is typically the case, but it is interesting to note the variance given the association between OpenAI/ChatGPT and Bing/Microsoft. The data below looks at responses to the query ‘best credit cards’ within SearchGPT and Bing’s Deep Search. As shown, SearchGPT drew on a lot more sources, whilst Bing’s Deep Search stuck to 3.
When comparing the data to where the content ranked in Google for the search term ‘best credit cards’, there were notable inclusions of content not in the top 100 index in Google (Scottish Sun and CompareBanks), which shows an interesting comparison between results Bing displays and leverages within its AI model.
Interestingly, when asked what the best credit card is, Google preferred to give more ‘sit on the fence’ response, offering insight into areas to look at:
3. SearchGPT searches are spiking again
After some initial testing, the Varn team can see some errors in SearchGPT, but that is to be expected with any new technology. Searches within Google have started to spike for SearchGPT, so making sure you are aware of it, and how it will impact your search marketing is essential.
Adapt your SEO strategy for SearchGPT.
If you want to learn more about how AI is impacting your organic traffic and how you can adapt and optimise for it, get in touch with a member of the Varn team.
