Google launched real-time search capabilities for its Gemini AI platform on Thursday, allowing its language models to access current information from Google Search. The new feature, called “Grounding with Google Search”, targets developers creating AI applications, distinguishing them from consumer-focused OpenAI applications. ChatGPT Search The service was launched on the same day.

“We’re focused on incorporating search augmented responses into developers’ workflows,” Google product lead Logan Kilpatrick said in an exclusive interview with VentureBeat. “We’re leveraging what Google does exceptionally well: making the world’s information accessible through search.”

Say hello to Grounding with Google Search, available in Gemini API + Google AI Studio!

You can now access new, updated, real-time information from Google Search when you build with Gemini by enabling the Grounding tool.https://t.co/oGVTOKHfM8

– Logan Kilpatrick (@OfficialLoganK) October 31, 2024

The system allows developers to supplement their AI applications with new search data, complete with citations and sources. service costs $35 per 1000 queriesreflecting the significant computing requirements for real-time AI search.

The technology uses a “dynamic recovery” system that automatically determines when to access search results. Each query receives a score between 0 and 1: questions about current events get a high score (0.97), while creative writing suggestions get a low score (0.13). This helps manage both costs and response times while maintaining accuracy.

Inside the $49 billion battle for the future of search

Google’s decision to integrate search with its artificial intelligence platform comes at a critical time. The company won $49.4 billion in search advertising in Q3 2024but faces increasing pressure from AI-powered alternatives. Running these systems requires massive computing resources – OpenAI expects to spend $5 billion in computing costs only this year.

The integration also raises questions about publisher compensation. Both Google and OpenAI have closed licensing deals with major news organizations, although the financial terms remain private. Several publishers, including The New York Timeshave filed lawsuits over artificial intelligence systems that use their content without permission.

Why OpenAI’s new ChatGPT search could change the way we find information online

Hours after Google’s announcement, OpenAI launched ChatGPT searchtaking a different approach by addressing consumers directly. While Google focuses on providing tools to developers to create search-enhanced AI applications, OpenAI’s service offers end users a way to access current information on news, sports, stocks and weather through one interface. conversational, especially without advertising.

“The journey we’re on is using Google Search in more creative ways, across multiple surfaces,” Shrestha Basu Mallick, Google’s group product manager for the Gemini API, said in an interview with VentureBeat. “You’ll have it through AI Studio, the Gemini APIs, and over time it may become native to the model itself.”

This new phase of competition could reshape the way people find information online. Instead of scrolling through pages of results, users can increasingly rely on artificial intelligence systems to synthesize responses from multiple sources. However, questions remain about accuracy, publisher compensation, and whether companies can build sustainable business models around these computing-intensive services.

The simultaneous launches suggest that AI-powered search may evolve into a three-way race between Google, Microsoft (through its OpenAI partnership) and OpenAI itself.

Google maintains advantages in search infrastructure and advertising revenue, while OpenAI has demonstrated skill in creating consumer-appealing AI products. Meanwhile, Microsoft benefits from both through its multibillion-dollar investment in OpenAI.