What is SearchGPT? Threat to google, and Challenge for SEO

First, it was Perplexity.AI then Google AI Overviews now, it’s SearchGPT. A prototype developed by OpenAI, competing with Google search engine and challenging us SEO professionals, but what is SearchGPT, and its impact on SEO?

What is SearchGPT?

SearchGPT is a new AI-powered search engine developed by OpenAI. Unlike traditional search engines like Google, which rely on keyword-based searches, SearchGPT uses a conversational interface to provide direct answers to user queries. Instead of presenting a list of links, SearchGPT summarizes information from multiple sources and cites these sources clearly.

Key Features of SearchGPT

1. Conversational Search: Users can ask questions in natural language and receive direct, concise answers. Follow-up questions and refined queries enhance the search experience, making it feel more like a conversation.
2. Direct Answers: Rather than offering a list of links, SearchGPT provides direct answers, summarizing information from various sources and highlighting key points.
3. Relevant Sources: Clear citations and links to the original sources ensure transparency and accuracy, allowing users to verify information easily.
4. Also has search operators: we can also use Site: and other search operators on SearchGPT. The same way we use on Google search for customising search results. 

SEO Community’s Reaction to SearchGPT

The SEO community has been actively discussing the implications of SearchGPT on search engine optimization practices. Here are some of the key points of discussion:

Will SearchGPT Compete with Google?

Many SEO professionals are asking if SearchGPT can genuinely compete with Google’s dominance?

The answer is, no!  Google’s sophisticated search algorithms, vast index of web pages, and integration with other services like Maps and YouTube give it a significant edge.

However, SearchGPT’s unique approach to providing direct answers and its conversational interface offer a fresh perspective on how search can be performed.

How Does SearchGPT Differ from Google?

Conversational Interface: Unlike Google, which relies on keyword matching, SearchGPT uses AI to understand the intent behind user queries. This results in more contextually relevant answers, even for complex or ambiguous questions.

Direct Answers vs. List of Links: SearchGPT’s ability to provide direct answers, complete with citations, stands in stark contrast to Google’s traditional list of links.

This feature could save users time by delivering the information they need more quickly.

Dynamic Context: SearchGPT maintains context across multiple interactions, allowing users to build on previous questions.

In contrast, Google treats each search as an isolated query.

Dive deep in How search engines are different from AI. Answer engines

Impact of SearchGPT on SEO

1. Concerns About OAI-SearchBot

Several top publishers, including The New York Times and Wired, have blocked OpenAI’s web crawler, OAI-SearchBot. This crawler indexes information to provide relevant results for SearchGPT users. Despite OpenAI’s assurances that the bot doesn’t collect data for AI model training, some publishers remain skeptical and prefer to block it.

2. Trust Issues

There is a general lack of trust among publishers regarding OpenAI’s data collection practices. Given that OpenAI has previously collected data without permission, some publishers are wary of allowing their content to be crawled by OAI-SearchBot, fearing it might be used for AI training purposes.

3. Impact on Traffic and Revenue

One significant concern is the potential impact on web traffic and revenue. Traditional search engines drive traffic to publishers’ websites, which is crucial for ad revenue and subscriptions.

However, AI-powered search engines like SearchGPT aim to provide answers directly within the search interface, potentially reducing the need for users to visit the source websites.

This is where GEO Generative Engine Optimisation comes in.

What We Want from OpenAI for Better SEO with SearchGPT

As we look ahead, there are a few things that I, and many other SEO professionals, want from OpenAI to make the most of SearchGPT and its impact on our strategies:

1. SearchGPT Console for Webmasters

Just like Google’s Search Console, we need a SearchGPT Console. This tool should allow us to analyze if our web pages have been featured in SearchGPT answers or recommended links. By seeing how our content performs in SearchGPT, we can adjust our strategies based on user prompts and follow-up questions. Imagine how much easier SEO would be if we knew what was working and what wasn’t!

2. Allowing O-AI Search Bots in robots.txt

We should embrace the opportunity to get traffic from multiple sources. By allowing OpenAI’s search bot, OAI-SearchBot, in our robots.txt files, we can attract traffic not only from Google but also from SearchGPT. Guess what? I’ve already allowed OpenAI’s search bot crawler on my site. I don’t care where the traffic comes from, as long as it’s coming!

3. Focusing on Semantic SEO

Creating content that is contextually relevant is key. We need to focus more on Semantic SEO to ensure that not only traditional search engines understand our content but also AI answer engines like SearchGPT and Perplexity.ai. This means crafting content that clearly answers potential queries in a straightforward and comprehensive manner.

4. Building Trust and Quality Backlinks

Trust and credibility are crucial. We should aim to have more quality and relevant backlinks, as this significantly boosts our site’s credibility. When AI-powered search engines see that our site is trusted and linked to by other reputable sources, they’re more likely to feature our content in their direct answers.

A Word from Shahnoorblogger

While Google’s dominance is unlikely to be challenged overnight, the emergence of AI-powered competitors like SearchGPT signals a new era of innovation and competition in the search engine market.

What do you think? Feel free to share your suggestions in the comments. I love to see them.

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