• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, May 8, 2024

OpenAI has been rumored for months to be working on a search engine -- but now someone has uncovered more evidence indicating that the rumor might be true.

Recently on X, @AlphaSignalAI pointed to the subdomain search.chatgpt.com as an indication that OpenAI could launch a search feature sooner rather than later.

"Microsoft Bing would allegedly power the service," he wrote on X.

The URL is no longer valid, but last weekend it briefly was re-routed to chatgpt.com, the official website where users can interact with the chatbot, according to Bloomberg.

OpenAI has not officially confirmed the move, but it appears to be a next step for a company wanting to increase its capabilities and find another path to increase revenue.

Perplexity has gained a $1 billion valuation -- as well as popularity among users and analysts -- by offering an AI-powered search engine that emphasizes accuracy and citations.

Search, which now dates back to about 1990, continues to evolve with the emergence of generative AI after being stagnant for years. Google I/O 2024 (scheduled for May 14) and Marketing Live 2024 (set for May 1) should give the industry back-to-back shoves in technology for advertising and marketing.

OpenAI recently announced a partnership with Dotdash Meredith (DDM), the owner of brands like People and Better Homes & Gardens. The publisher will license its content to OpenAI to train ChatGPT.

DDM will use the OpenAI's models to boost its in-house ad-targeting tool, by collaborating with to create new AI products and features for its readers and use historical and ongoing DDM content to enhance its model's performance.