Artificial intelligence has been quietly powering many technologies for over a decade, whether for tools like facial recognition or in-game opponents in video games.
But the release of OpenAI’s ChatGPT in 2022 made AI tangible for consumers. The powerful chatbot allows users to discover how large language models could assist them with tasks like planning a trip, drafting emails, and automating workflows.
Generative AI is now changing search. Instead of traditional search engines, consumers now use LLM-powered bots for research, with Google itself now embracing AI in its own search results.
ChatGPT developer OpenAI now wants to leverage this interest in a new kind of internet search. The developer recently launched “connectors” for some ChatGPT users, which allows them to pull data from third-party platforms like Outlook, Microsoft Teams, and Sharepoint.
“It’s very integrated,” Oliver Jay, managing director of international at OpenAI, said at Coins2Day Brainstorm AI Singapore on Wednesday. He added that connectors will allow users to access and analyze their work data, such as by allowing a user to generate a report based on emails and meetings with just one prompt.
These search functions are now helping to drive OpenAI’s business growth, Jay said.
When pressed if OpenAI will eventually launch a browser or its own suite of office software—putting it in head-to-head competition against Google, Apple, and Microsoft—Jay said that a new product will come from how OpenAI thinks its future users will interact with work.
“We didn’t build search because we wanted to necessarily go after the search market. We saw users wanted agents, and agents needed to go out and find information,” he explained. “That’s how we built search.”
OpenAI in Asia
The U.S.-based OpenAI is foraying into Asian markets. The AI developer opened its first Asia office in Tokyo early last year, and also announced plans for a Singapore office in late 2024. In February, OpenAI unveiled plans to work with Korean internet giant Kakao to develop AI for South Korea.
On Wednesday, Jay revealed that OpenAI is now working with the Singapore Tourism Board.
“We’re looking at advanced marketing insights. We’re thinking about driving and building a more personalized experience for visitors with all the different businesses involved,” Jay said at the conference on Wednesday.
The Singapore Tourism Board will explore how to use OpenAI’s technology in the tourism sector, such as by helping hotels use AI to offer assistance in multiple languages.
The Singapore Tourism Board’s chief technology officer, Jordan Tan, said in a statement that leveraging OpenAI’s capabilities could become a “key enabler in addressing productivity challenges and accelerating digital transformation across the sector.”
