Microsoft-backed OpenAI has announced the launch of SearchGPT, an innovative AI-powered search engine poised to rival Google’s stronghold on the multibillion-dollar search market.

The creator of ChatGPT revealed this prototype on Thursday night, showcasing its blend of conversational AI with real-time internet data.

OpenAI, headquartered in California, has opened sign-ups for SearchGPT, currently being tested with a select group of users and publishers. “Getting answers on the web can take a lot of effort, often requiring multiple attempts to get relevant results. We believe that by enhancing the conversational capabilities of our models with real-time information from the web, finding what you’re looking for can be faster and easier,” the company stated.

Google, owned by Alphabet, dominates over 90% of the global search engine market, generating significant revenue from advertising. Alphabet reported an 11% increase in advertising sales, reaching $64.6 billion in the second quarter of the year.

Unlike the existing ChatGPT, SearchGPT offers responses with clear, in-line attribution and links, enabling users to easily verify sources and engage with additional results via a sidebar.

Since ChatGPT’s launch in November 2022, bolstered by a $13 billion investment from Microsoft, OpenAI has been seen as a formidable competitor by Alphabet investors, potentially threatening Google’s market share.

Google is also enhancing its search capabilities with AI. Its generative AI model, Gemini, was integrated into the search engine through a feature called AI Overviews, launched in the United States in May. This feature provides users with quick topic overviews and links for further learning.

As OpenAI enters the search engine arena with SearchGPT, the landscape of internet search is set for a significant transformation.