OpenAI is aiming to challenge Google’s long-standing dominance in the search engine market. A recent legal filing in the U.S. vs. Google antitrust case (filed Dec. 4, 2024) reveals OpenAI’s bold strategy to challenge the tech giant in 2025. At the heart of this push is ChatGPT, OpenAI’s conversational AI tool, which is being positioned as a smarter, ad-free alternative to Google Search.
Unlike Google, which presents users with pages full of links, many of which are ads, ChatGPT aims to provide direct, relevant answers to users’ questions. For example, if you ask, “What’s the best student laptop in 2025?”, ChatGPT will give you a tailored suggestion instead of a cluttered list of search results filled with sponsored content. This streamlined experience is a major part of OpenAI’s approach to attract users who are tired of navigating ads and SEO-optimized pages.
Since 2024, there has been a noticeable global rise in the use of AI-powered tools, especially among students, researchers, and professionals looking for faster, more context-aware information. ChatGPT and other generative AI platforms have become integral to how people work, learn, and search online. This growth in AI usage has encouraged OpenAI to double down on improving its search capabilities.
To support this goal, OpenAI is relying on a subscription model rather than advertising. Premium offerings like SuperGrok (available through x.ai/grok) are expected to help fund these advanced features. ChatGPT is also equipped with powerful tools such as DeepSearch mode and Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), which help it access up-to-date, real-world information and answer more complicated or specific questions, areas where Google sometimes falls short.
Additionally, ChatGPT’s search functionality is expanding beyond text. It now supports voice input and image recognition, making it a highly versatile option across mobile and desktop platforms. With these features already live on iOS and Android apps, users can ask questions by speaking, typing, or even uploading pictures.
OpenAI is also working behind the scenes to form partnerships with browser and smartphone manufacturers to make ChatGPT the default search option on more devices. This could be a major blow to Google, which currently dominates the search market thanks to lucrative default search contracts with companies like Apple and Mozilla.
That said, OpenAI still faces challenges. Running large language models (LLMs) at the scale needed to power a global search tool is expensive. Balancing performance with affordability—especially under a subscription model—will be key to success. Plus, Google’s existing advantage in terms of data, advertising reach, and financial partnerships remains a major hurdle.
Regulators may also slow things down. As governments around the world keep a close eye on Big Tech’s influence and competition, OpenAI’s moves will likely face scrutiny, especially if it starts taking market share away from Google.
Interestingly, the legal filing also hinted at a mysterious feature called “BigBrain” mode, which is believed to be an advanced AI capability still under wraps. This could be aimed at enterprise or niche users needing high-level reasoning and deep analysis—another edge over traditional search engines.
Looking ahead, OpenAI is targeting long-tail queries—the kinds of detailed, specific searches that Google doesn’t always answer well, like “2025 small business tax tips.” If ChatGPT’s user base keeps growing and partnerships succeed, OpenAI could start pulling significant traffic away from Google as early as this year.
The surge in AI use since 2024 is fueling OpenAI’s mission to revolutionize search. Whether ChatGPT can truly dethrone Google remains to be seen, but the competition is heating up, and for users, that means more options and better experiences ahead.
