OpenAI's search product, SearchGPT, is expected to go global by the end of the year, according to Varun Shetty, OpenAI’s Head of Media Partnerships. OpenAI began testing the SearchGPT prototype in July. It aimed to provide clear, concise answers to users.

At the Twipe Digital Growth Summit in Brussels, Shetty shared more about the company’s plans, Press Gazette reports. He said the SearchGPT model will be "powerful enough" to handle complex tasks. It will be like "a high-performing employee."

However, users have given mixed feedback on SearchGPT. Some praised its ability to deliver precise answers. Others noted it provides incorrect information.

No revenue sharing for publishers

Shetty said there are no plans to share ad revenue with publishers whose content appears in SearchGPT results. The company seeks to boost "incremental traffic from new audiences" via clicks to the original content.

He explained that OpenAI’s focus is on driving traffic. “This will be something that we’re thinking a lot about, but I think we’re going to start with this proposition of traffic.”  He also said that OpenAI wants to provide enough value to publishers to keep them engaged with the platform and acknowledged that the situation is an "evolving space" for the company.

AI and newsroom support

Shetty addressed concerns over AI-generated news. He said, "No one wants to read AI-generated news." But, he noted that AI could help journalists in other ways. For instance, ChatGPT could help journalists find photos, translate content, or turn text into audio or video. The tool could also adjust content for different audiences.

Industry concerns

Publishers have been expressing concerns about how AI-generated summaries might affect their traffic. Google, which uses AI Overviews, has also faced concerns from publishers. Some say these AI summaries might cut publisher traffic by 25%.

Major publishers, like The New York Times and Condé Nast, have opted out of Apple’s AI training tool, Applebot-Extended.

OpenAI says publishers can choose to opt out of SearchGPT if they wish. “We care deeply about giving publishers control over how they appear within SearchGPT, or if they appear at all,” Shetty said. 

However, companies like Microsoft and Perplexity AI are opting to compensate publishers. Perplexity AI announced its ad revenue-sharing deal. This followed criticism for scraping publishers' content without permission.

Microsoft has acknowledged publishers' concerns about how Bing’s generative search affects publisher traffic. The company said it will pay publishers whose content is used by its productivity assistant, Copilot.