OpenAI criticizes Google in antitrust trial

In Today’s Issue:

• OpenAI criticizes Google in antitrust trial

• ALSO: “Grokvision” is the newest xAI feature

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In testimony during the ongoing Google antitrust trial, OpenAI's head of ChatGPT, Nick Turley, told a federal court that search technology is essential to the company's goal of building a "super assistant"—and that Google declined to work with them.

Turley explained that while ChatGPT is a powerful tool, its core language model still lacks up-to-date information and tends to hallucinate. Integrating a reliable search backend is necessary for solving both problems. “You can’t have a super assistant that doesn’t know the current facts or makes things up,” he said.

OpenAI reached out to Google in 2024 to explore a partnership, hoping to gain access to its search index. While Google reportedly offers limited access to Meta, Turley said OpenAI’s request was rejected in private conversations. In the meantime, OpenAI has begun developing its own search index but admits it’s still far from ready—largely because many sites block its web crawler and Google can offer partners more incentives to cooperate.

Turley also hinted at some frustrations with OpenAI’s current unnamed search partner (widely assumed to be Microsoft), saying the results have “significant quality issues” and are only viable in the short term.

Is OpenAI ditching its partner Microsoft for a bigger payday in the future?