How to Use ChatGPT Search for Better Reporting

Discover how OpenAI's AI-driven SearchGPT enhances reporting with deeper insights, quicker analysis, and streamlined workflows for journalists.

Is ChatGPT Search your first stop in researching a topic? Christopher Allbritton went deep down the AI-search rabbit hole to discover why it could become an important part of a journalist’s toolbox — along with an urgent caveat. Before that, though, a quick reminder that there will be no Thursday post or podcast this week due to the Thanksgiving holiday in the U.S.

…BUT if you’re thinking about leveling-up your AI game in the New Year, you might want to watch your inboxes on Black Friday.

Now, onto some smart advice on how to use ChatGPT Search (née SearchGPT) for research. —PP

OpenAI Search (AKA SearchGPT) is a powerful tool, but it requires some finesse for journalists to take full advantage. (Credit: Midjourney, altered by The Media Copilot)

You’ve probably heard of SearchGPT, the name of OpenAI’s AI-assisted search feature. It’s not quite right to call it a “search engine,” since it does a bit more than search. It aims to provide conversational answers to user queries, synthesizing information from multiple sources rather than giving a list of links.

But how do the ways ChatGPT Search differs from a search engine make it potentially more helpful to journalists than Google, DuckDuckGo and the like?

We took it on a spin to find out where it soars and where it falls.