Despite aiming to replace Google Search, OpenAI’s ChatGPT has been using its Search data to respond to real-time queries, says a report by The Information. According to it, OpenAI’s AI chatbot ChatGPT relies on SerpApi, a paid web-scraping tool, to pull results from Google Search. This allows the chatbot to answer questions on fast-moving topics such as news, sports, and financial markets—areas where OpenAI’s own systems fall short.
As per the report, OpenAI was previously listed as a SerpApi client, but that reference has now been removed. Other clients reportedly include Meta, Apple, and AI search startup Perplexity.
The Information report comes days after OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said he no longer uses Google Search due to ChatGPT’s superior search capabilities. In an interaction with The Verge, Altman said: “I legitimately cannot tell you the last time I did a Google search”.
Notably, the report contradicts the AI company’s previous remarks. OpenAI had officially said that ChatGPT’s search function uses its own web crawler, Bing, and licensed publisher data. But during Google’s antitrust trial last year, ChatGPT head Nick Turley admitted that the company had asked Google for access to its search index. The request, he then said, was denied.
