As part of its OpenAI has announced that its AI-powered search engine, SearchGPT, is now available to all users, both free and paid, starting today. This expansion follows the initial release in October, which was limited to paid subscribers. The search function is well-integrated into ChatGPT, and it's pretty useful.
But, ya know… when you ask the question, who's gonna be "Google for AI search?" The answer has to be "Google."
Just last week, Google unveiled Gemini 2.0, which introduced autonomous agents capable of complex reasoning and task execution. If you think about AI deployment the way Google is thinking about it, Gemini 2.0 looks like Google's preliminary answer to SearchGPT, Perplexity.ai, and everyone else trying to get into the AI-assisted search business.
To understand this, you have to think past search. No one wants to search; everyone wants to find, then act. Gemini 2.0 takes us one step closer to "agentic" AI. (Agentic is a fancy word for agency. It describes systems capable of autonomous decision-making and action execution to achieve specific goals without continuous human intervention.)
Gemini 2.0 features multimodal capabilities that process and generate text, images, audio, and video. Its agents, such as Project Astra and Project Mariner, can autonomously perform tasks like web navigation and user assistance, integrating seamlessly into Google's ecosystem.
While SearchGPT and Perplexity.ai have introduced innovative AI-driven search functionalities, Google's Gemini 2.0 expands the horizon by embedding autonomous agents within its ecosystem, potentially redefining user expectations.
Gemini 2.0 looks like a strategic shift toward outcome-based search. If it works as described, it's not only going to challenge existing search paradigms – it's going to push everyone working on AI-assisted search to innovate.
As always your thoughts and comments are both welcome and encouraged. Just reply to this email. -s
P.S. It's time to to the Shelly Palmer Innovation Series Breakfast at CES 2025. (Wynn Resorts, Las Vegas, January 8, 2025, 8a-10a.)
About Shelly Palmer
Shelly Palmer is the Professor of Advanced Media in Residence at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and CEO of The Palmer Group, a consulting practice that helps Fortune 500 companies with technology, media and marketing. Named he covers tech and business for , is a regular commentator on CNN and writes a popular . He's a , and the creator of the popular, free online course, . Follow or visit .
