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Reports reveal that OpenAI uses Google Search data to answer some of users' questions.
The topics that use Google Search data mostly surround news, sports, and financial markets.
OpenAI retrieves the Google Search data using a third-party web-scraping tool.
As more people consult ChatGPT for general inquiries, reports are pointing to OpenAI, the AI-powered chatbot's parent company, leveraging Google Search's index to provide users with answers.
OpenAI is using Google Search data to help ChatGPT answer questions, particularly about news, sports, and financial markets, according to The Information. The article said that these current event topics are where OpenAI's proprietary tools struggle to give accurate responses.
(Disclosure: Ziff Davis, ZDNET's parent company, filed an April 2025 lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.)
Also: I retested GPT-5's coding skills using OpenAI's guidance - and now I trust it even less
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