Are we getting a ChatGPT search engine?

For decades, Google has monopolized the search engine game. Other search engines have come and gone in an attempt to overthrow it, including Bing, DuckDuckGo, and even TikTok — but the search giant has remained a leader.

But can ChatGPT and the fast-growing world of AI be enough to finally take Google down? Back in February, an insider told The Information that a ChatGPT-powered search engine was already in development.

According to this insider, this application would combine the search prowess of Microsoft’s Bing with ChatGPT’s OpenAI language model to generate more detailed search results. With Microsoft being a major investor in OpenAI, the implementation of Bing feels like an especially likely — and tactical move by the tech giant.

At the time, the search engine was said to be in very early development, but now, some reports are suggesting that the competitor might be ready as early as May.

What’s in a domain?

A rumored new domain for this ChatGPT search engine has now caused these rumors to hit fever pitch. On Reddit, for instance, user halfstar pointed out that SSL certificates exist for the domain code search.chatgpt.com. And over on X, podcast host Pete added even more fuel to the fire by posting a tweet reading: “Search (dot) ChatGPT (dot) com May 9th.”

As pointed out by Neowin, visiting the subdomain on a web browser doesn’t lead to a 404 or “domain error” message. Instead, users are met with a mysterious “not found” message, which adds further fuel to the fire that ChatGPT’s answer to Google might be coming sooner than we think.

If such a search engine comes to pass, it won’t be without its competitors. Perplexity, for instance, is a start-up backed by Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos which, while still not profitable, has 10 million monthly active users according to Fortune.

According to its website, the search engine offers “part chatbot and part search engine, offering real-time information and footnotes showing the sources of its answers.”