ChatGPT Search vs. Perplexity: A 2024 First Look

ChatGPT Search has arrived inside ChatGPT, as I expected after trying the earlier SearchGPT prototype. I see it as a direct challenge to Perplexity and Google Search, and a reminder of platform risk: a business built on another company's technology can find that provider adding similar features itself.

OpenAI's interface includes a globe icon to initiate web searches, while ChatGPT can also decide to search automatically. I want to see how quickly it finds current information and how its answers compare with Perplexity. This video was published in November 2024, so the interface and access described here are historical.

At launch, [OpenAI said](https://openai.com/index/introducing-chatgpt-search/) Plus and Team users and SearchGPT waitlist users had access, with Enterprise, Edu and free access planned later. Its announcement was subsequently updated to say search became available to everyone in supported regions in February 2025. Access and product behavior can change.

The launch included source links and special displays for weather, stocks, sports, news and maps. OpenAI said its search model was a fine-tuned GPT-4o, post-trained with synthetic data including distilled outputs from o1-preview. Those details describe the 2024 launch, not necessarily the model used today.

OpenAI said it relied on third-party search providers and content from partners, including news publishers. I see those publishing relationships as part of the strategy behind getting timely information into answers, though the presence of a source does not by itself guarantee an accurate answer.

For the first test, I ask both tools to find the Joe Rogan episode featuring Donald Trump. ChatGPT gives me a direct YouTube link. Perplexity responds at a comparable speed in this instance but adds background about the interview and its reception, so the actual link is less direct.

A previous Perplexity search for 'Rob Thomas party down' produced a more serious error. It conflated Rob Thomas, a co-creator of the television show Party Down, with the singer of Matchbox Twenty, who has the same name. The output incorrectly described them as one person and attributed the show's inspiration to the singer's music career.

I try the same query in ChatGPT Search. Its shorter answer identifies the television creator and describes Party Down; when I ask explicitly whether he is the same person as the singer, it says they are different people. This individual example shows a correct distinction, not a comprehensive accuracy comparison.

The video is sponsored by Vultr. Berman describes its GPU cloud infrastructure, available NVIDIA hardware and Kubernetes offering, and mentions a promotional credit. These are the sponsor's 2024 claims and offer; availability, pricing and promotional terms may change.

Next I ask for the best restaurants in Las Vegas. ChatGPT produces an interactive map with restaurants, but I would prefer a separate list rather than having the results sit inside the map. Perplexity organizes its response by type, includes an interactive map and displays Yelp ratings; I prefer that presentation in this test.

For a more specialized query, I ask whether long-handed inserters are slower than regular inserters in Factorio. ChatGPT appears not to use search and says they are slower, which I think is wrong. Perplexity cites the game's wiki and says the long-handed version is faster.

The [Factorio wiki](https://wiki.factorio.com/inserters) lists a higher base rotation speed for long-handed inserters than regular ones. Actual throughput depends on conditions such as pickup and drop positions, so rotation speed alone is not the whole story. This is a useful example of why I want a reference for a detailed factual claim.

In these examples, Perplexity appears to search each time, while ChatGPT sometimes answers without searching. That is my observation from a few queries, not a general test of either product. Retrieval can help with current facts, but a search result can also be misunderstood or misrepresented.

Finally I ask for the top-performing technology stocks today, meaning October 31, 2024. ChatGPT searches and provides a list attributed to Investor's Business Daily, although I cannot get it to display the chart shown in OpenAI's launch material. The displayed figures are historical and should not be treated as current market data.

Perplexity returns a different list, which appears to emphasize longer-term performance rather than the day's price movement. When I clarify that I mean today's changes, it says it cannot access the real-time data. On this particular request I prefer ChatGPT's answer, although I have not independently audited all the stock figures.

I plan to keep testing and using both products. Perplexity's presentation impressed me in several examples, while ChatGPT was more direct in others. For my own workflow, I expect to use Google Search less often; that is a personal preference after a small demonstration, not a systematic evaluation.