OpenAI uses Google search data to power ChatGPT despite Google's objections.

OpenAI, backed by Microsoft, has been using Google's search data to improve ChatGPT's responses without directly accessing it from Google. Google has tried to make it harder for the web-scraping company SerpApi to access its content, but OpenAI also uses its own web crawler and data from Bing and other companies. While OpenAI can't match Google's accuracy for uncommon searches, it sometimes surfaces results that resemble Google's search snippets.

OpenAI, backed by Microsoft, has been employing Google's search data to improve ChatGPT's responses without directly accessing it from Google. This strategy involves using a web-scraping company called SerpApi to extract real-time search results from Google, which are then utilized to enhance ChatGPT's ability to answer queries about news, sports, and financial markets [1].

Despite Google's previous stance against granting OpenAI direct access to its search index, the company has been renting servers from Google Cloud to run ChatGPT. This indicates a pragmatic approach where business needs can override competitive tensions [1]. The reliance on Google's data is particularly notable for its freshness and accuracy, which OpenAI's own AI models have not yet fully developed.

OpenAI's use of Google's data is not limited to SerpApi. The company also employs its own web crawler and data from Bing and other companies to supplement its search capabilities. However, the accuracy of these alternative data sources often falls short compared to Google's proprietary methods, especially for uncommon or long-tail queries [1].

The use of Google's search data by OpenAI has been corroborated by a former Google engineer, Abhishek Iyer, who demonstrated that ChatGPT could access information from dummy pages exclusively indexed by Google [1]. This suggests that Google's snippets, which are brief answers appearing at the top of search results, are indeed being repurposed in ChatGPT responses.

OpenAI's reliance on Google's data highlights the company's ambition to dominate the search market while acknowledging its limitations in matching Google's accuracy. While OpenAI's ChatGPT has achieved significant growth with 700 million weekly users and a projected $10 billion in annual revenue, it still lags behind Google's scale, which handles over 5 trillion searches per year [1].

OpenAI's strategy to monetize its platform includes exploring subscriptions and affiliate partnerships, similar to Google's monetization of shopping results. However, the question of whether Google will ever license its product or shopping data to OpenAI remains uncertain [1].

References:
[1] https://www.tomsguide.com/ai/chatgpt-is-secretly-using-google-search-data-heres-how
[2] https://www.financialexpress.com/life/technology-chatgpt-uses-google-search-for-answering-your-real-time-questions-reveals-latest-report-3956031/