What's Changing In ChatGPT
According to OpenAI's official changelog, as of June 13th, ChatGPT Search now:
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Follows instructions more reliably - especially across extended, multi-turn chats.
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Repeats itself less - cutting down on annoying redundancy.
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Performs multiple searches behind the scenes to build more complete answers for complex topics.
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Supports image-based queries - you can now upload a photo, and ChatGPT will search the web based on that image.
Why This Matters
While ChatGPT still isn't a Google killer (yet), its search platform keeps evolving - and that matters for anyone tracking AI visibility, SEO, and content discovery.
With better handling of nuanced queries, ChatGPT may surface different types of content in its answers. And the new image-based search could open up entirely new use cases for eCommerce, affiliate marketers, and content creators optimizing for visual queries.
But Don't Get Too Comfortable Yet
There's a trade-off: the new system tends to give longer answers - sometimes way too detailed, especially for simple questions. OpenAI admits this is a known issue and says a fix is in the works.
The company also reminds users that ChatGPT Search, while improving, still makes mistakes. Always double-check the AI's output - especially for high-stakes queries.
The Bottom Line for SEOs, Affiliates & Media Buyers
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ChatGPT Search is slowly becoming more "search engine-like."
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Expect shifts in how AI-generated answers pull web data.
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Visual search could impact how product images, offers, and visual assets get indexed.
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Don't assume perfection - hallucinations still happen.
Stay tuned - OpenAI isn't done tweaking the search formula.