New domain suggests ChatGPT's Google Search engine alternative may arrive soon

It has been rumored that ChatGPT has been working on its own Google Search engine alternative for some time now, escalating the AI war between the two giants. Some previous reports suggested that ChatGPT's search engine could launch as soon as May, and if we go by the latest reports, that could actually happen.

Reddit user halfstar spotted SSL certificates for the domain name of ChatGPT's search engine, search.chatgpt.com. Adding fuel to the fire, an AI podcast host who goes by the name Pete said in a post on X (formerly Twitter), "Search (dot) ChatGPT (dot) com May 9th," hinting at the May 9 launch of ChatGPT's search engine.

When you visit the subdomain on a web browser, it returns a cryptic "Not found" message and not a "404" or "domain error," adding more to the speculation that ChatGPT's search engine might be in the works.

There aren't many details about the ChatGPT search engine as of now, but the recent developments do give us a hint that Microsoft, which is a major investor in OpenAI, wants to challenge Google's monopoly in search engines. Microsoft's Bing hasn't been able to cripple the dominance of Google Search, so it might as well take the help of OpenAI to take down Google Search.

As noted by Android Authority, the ChatGPT search engine may focus on using AI to provide quick results and AI summaries. If everything falls into place, we could see a new search engine rival to Google Search on May 9.

Recently, OpenAI shook hands with the Financial Times to further improve its models. The partnerships will show links to appropriate articles in the Financial Times whenever relevant queries are asked on ChatGPT. Moreover, this venture could also help ChatGPT get the latest information via different Financial Times sources.