OpenAI opened limited access to its SearchGPT prototype in July, but so far only a small number of users have access to it. SearchGPT has been pointed out as a potential alternative to Google Search. Now, a recent report from The Washington Post highlights how SearchGPT performs and shares insights from those who have access to OpenAI's search tools.

Early access users say that SearchGPT uses AI to summarize information from different stores and provide quick answers, similar to Perplexity. The search tool also adds relevant sources at the bottom. But SearchGPT is also prone to occasional hallucinations and confidently presents false information. It also has trouble finding local information and won't answer some shopping questions.

Furthermore, a user who has access to the SearchGPT prototype says that he finds OpenAI's search tool overwhelming and does not consider it a serious threat to Google Search. Since OpenAI is one of the top AI labs building flagship models, he expected a breakthrough in AI search as well, but he says SearchGPT "isn't exactly too impressive."

Another user found SearchGPT better than Google's AI overview, which has been heavily criticized for generating meaningless and misleading answers. He said: "I'd choose SearchGPT over Google any day." That said, both users agree that OpenAI's search tool isn't as impressive as Perplexity, a small startup working on AI-powered search.