Google, Bing and ChatGPT Search in comparison

OpenAI has launched its own search engine and integrated it into ChatGPT. This puts the company in direct competition with classic search engines. As part of the US election, we compared ChatGPT Search, Google and Bing.

OpenAI had already announced its own search engine in July 2024. Initially, ChatGPT Search was only available as a trial version. Access was limited to a maximum of 10,000 users. At the end of October 2024, the company made its AI search engine available to all subscribers to the ChatGPT Plus paid subscription.

In the future, approval for companies and educational institutions will initially follow. Only then will all users of the free version receive access to ChatGPT Search – according to OpenAI's plan. The AI ​​continues to search the internet based on user input. The search can also be started manually – by clicking on the search button.

Due to the integration of the new search function, ChatGPT now also contains sources and links – for example to news articles and blog posts. This should give you the opportunity to find out more about a topic. By clicking on the “Sources” button under an answer, a sidebar with the sources can be opened.

In comparison: Google, ChatGPT Search and Bing

To ensure access to relevant information and designs, Open AI has partnered with news and data providers, including Associated Press, Condé Nastthe Financial Times, Reuters, The World and that Axel Springer-Verlag.

These partnerships are intended to prevent legal disputes. For example, they had News Corporation and the New York Times recently filed a lawsuit against the AI ​​search engine Perplexity AI. The accusation: copyright infringement. However, OpenAI's partnerships appear questionable.

This applies both in terms of balance (more on that later) and potential copyright infringement. Because ChatGPT Search searches, processes, quotes and links not only to the content of its media partners, but also to other news websites.

As we were able to find out in a quick check, these include, among other things: Wikipedia, NTV, Mercury, Stern, taz, Business Week and even the clickbait portal The West. There are also numerous public law offerings, including: daily newsthe ZDFthe Bavarian Radio and The first.

With ChatGPT Search, OpenAI undoubtedly comes into direct competition with classic search engines. Many media outlets are already treating AI search as a successor to Google. To find out what ChatGPT Search can really do, we made a small comparison during the US election and compared OpenAI's AI search function with Google and Bing (as of November 5, 2024, between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m.).

Google

We had all three search engines search for information about the US presidential election. The prompt was always the same: “Look for current information about the US election”.

Google then spat out news articles from the following media on the first search page: ZDF, daily news, WDR, South German newspaper, Bavarian Radio, HE DOES, Time and WDR. There was also a contribution from the Federal Agency for Civic Education.

Meanwhile, content appeared in the news area (Google News). ZDFfrom the Bavarian Radio and from the South German newspaper. The area “Further questions“, in which Google often provides short answers to relevant questions about a search entry, did not appear in our search query. No ads were displayed.

Bing

Bing linked news articles from the following media on its first search page: Spiegel, daily news, NTV, ZDFdem Bavarian Radiodem Handelsblatt and that RND.

Content appeared in the news area (Google News). daily newsof the Manager Magazinethe Weltvon Mercury Online and from ZDF. The area “Similar questions“ received post previews and links to: MSN, Yahoodem ZDF and the daily news. Advertisements didn't appear.

ChatGPT Search

In contrast to Google and Bing, ChatGPT (Search) only provides a limited selection of information, sources and links on a topic or search entry. When asked “Look for current information on the US election,” the AI ​​search spat out the following text:

The presidential election in the USA will take place today, November 5, 2024. The main candidates are Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump.

Current status:

Polling stations: The polling stations in the eastern USA are already open. The first results are expected in the early hours of November 6th German time. (World)

Polls: The latest polls show an extremely close race. According to FiveThirtyEight, Trump is at 48% nationally, while Harris is at 47.7% – a difference of just 0.3%. (PICTURE)

Election procedure:

The US presidential election takes place indirectly via the Electoral College. Each state has a certain number of electors based on its population. A candidate needs at least 270 of the 538 electoral votes to win. (Wikipedia)

Reporting in Germany:

German television channels such as ARD and ZDF are reporting comprehensively on the US election. On the night of November 5th to 6th, live broadcasts will be offered presenting the election results and analysis. (The first)

Please note that results may be available later in some states due to differences in time zones and counting procedures.

As sources were BILD, BILDdie WirtschaftsWoche, Wikipedia and The first called. In the news section, which is visually reminiscent of Bing and Google, articles appeared from BILD, BILD and the Welt.

Conclusion: Google, ChatGPT Search and Bing in comparison

Even if ChatGPT Search includes other sources and links beyond OpenAI's media partnerships, the cooperation with Axel Springer Verlag is supported by the repeated edition of BILD– and Welt-Content clear. Against this background, the search results from Google and Bing appear more balanced.

This is especially true for the Microsoft search engine. However, ChatGPT Search is a different type of internet search. OpenAI's AI search function spits out summarized and general information with corresponding sources and links. Even if the selection sometimes seems questionable, the search – depending on the prompt – is sometimes more precise.

When it comes to clicks, however, publishers and media are likely to benefit far less from the bundled information from ChatGPT Search than from Google or Bing. In contrast to classic search engines, AI search basically does not contain any advertising.

Even if this was not the case in our query, advertisements regularly appear on Google, Bing and Co. – depending on the search input. Against this background, ChatGPT's search appears tidier and more user-friendly, but also unbalanced. Furthermore, it only provides limited information.

Also interesting: