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ChatGPT Search

ChatGPT Search is OpenAI's web search integrated into ChatGPT, synthesizing answers from real-time web sources. Conversational search instead of a link list — directly in the ChatGPT interface.

ChatGPT Search — explained in more detail

ChatGPT Search rolled out in October 2024, initially for ChatGPT Plus users and later opened to free users as well. The feature lets the model decide automatically (or the user trigger manually) whether to search the live web for an answer. Answers come with clickable source cards and inline links.

From an SEO/GEO standpoint, the key detail: OAI-SearchBot is the crawler powering answers (different from GPTBot, which crawls for training data). To appear in ChatGPT answers, allow OAI-SearchBot in robots.txt, deliver well-structured content with clear definitions, and build strong external reputation — similar logic to Perplexity.

Example / In practice

A user asks ChatGPT “Which LLM providers offer prompt caching?” — the answer lists three providers with brief explanations, each statement carrying a source card. One source is a well-structured glossary entry with a clean definition; the click from the ChatGPT card generates qualified traffic to the site.

Distinction from similar terms

SearchGPT was the beta codename; ChatGPT Search is the productized rollout. Perplexity follows the same answer-with-sources model but is a standalone search engine, not a chatbot integration. Google AI Overviews also synthesize answers but sit on top of classic Google SERPs.

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