What is AI Web Search?
AI web search lets a chatbot browse the internet in real time to find current information before answering your question. Instead of relying only on its training data (which has a cutoff date), the AI searches the web, reads relevant pages, and synthesizes the results into a single response with source links. This means you get up to date answers about news, prices, events, and recent developments.
Common use cases- Checking current facts: stock prices, weather, sports scores, election results
- Researching recent news or announcements that happened after the AI's training cutoff
- Finding and comparing products, services, or reviews from multiple sources
ChatGPT Search
Primary purpose
Conversational AI with search added
Sources per query
~8 average
Citation style
Inline hyperlinks
Academic accuracy
~85%
Best for
Users who want one tool for everything
Perplexity
Primary purpose
Search engine with AI summaries
Sources per query
~22 average
Citation style
Numbered footnotes
Academic accuracy
~92%
Best for
Users who prioritize source quality and breadth