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On October 31, 2024, Google announced Grounding with Google Search for the Gemini API, earlier on the same day OpenAI announced ChatGPT search. The timing made for a striking head-to-head, but the launches were not equivalent: Google gave developers a way to connect Gemini applications to current Google Search information, while OpenAI put web search directly inside ChatGPT for users.
What Google actually launched
Google announced Grounding with Google Search, a capability for the Gemini API and Google AI Studio. It let developers build applications in which Gemini could draw on current Google Search information and return citations. It was developer infrastructure, not a new standalone consumer search chatbot. Google’s documentation describes the capability and its current implementation.
Google AI Studio offered developers a place to experiment with Gemini API capabilities. In an application, the developer integrated the API and decided how to present the model’s answer and its source information to users.
What OpenAI launched later that day
OpenAI’s October 31 announcement introduced ChatGPT search: web search within ChatGPT, where users could ask conversational questions about current information. Search could be selected manually or activated by ChatGPT when useful. The announcement highlighted topics such as news, sports, stocks, weather and maps, and described responses with links to sources and a Sources interface. OpenAI’s announcement says the initial search model was a fine-tuned version of GPT-4o, post-trained with synthetic-data techniques that included distilling outputs from o1-preview. OpenAI also said the feature used third-party search providers and content supplied directly by partners.
#1 Best Overall
- Attention-grabbing design meets the latest evolution of the Google Pixel Camera on the new Google Pixel 11 Pro XL; Gemini Intelligence helps manage details so you can live in the moment[1]; and the phone is available in two sizes
- Unlocked Android phone gives you the flexibility to change carriers and choose your own data plan: Works with Google Fi, Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T, and other major carriers[2]
- Stay informed without looking at your screen: When your phone is face down, Pixel HiLight gently alerts you with subtle glowing lights when your favorite contacts are calling or you’re talking with Gemini; exclusive to Google Pixel 11 Pro phones
- Magic Capture catches the moment as you live it: With just one tap, Pixel 11 Pro captures video and photos, and automatically edits, crops, and unblurs a curated collection, ready to share – and you get the memory of how it felt to be in the moment
- Two new cameras for more brilliant photos: A larger telephoto sensor captures 30% more light for clear, beautiful photos and videos, even in the dark[3]; Pixel’s longest zoom ever helps you capture details from impressive distances[4]
OpenAI initially rolled ChatGPT search out to Plus and Team users and people on the SearchGPT waitlist, with expansion to Enterprise, Edu and Free users planned. OpenAI later said it became available to all logged-in users on December 16, 2024, and to everyone in supported regions on February 5, 2025. Those dates describe the rollout, not a guarantee of availability in every country or account today.
Why “hours before” needs context
Both announcements were dated October 31, 2024. Contemporaneous coverage characterized Google’s announcement as arriving hours before OpenAI’s, but the available record here does not establish an exact hour-by-hour interval. Contemporaneous coverage supports the broad sequence, so “earlier that day” is the careful way to put it.
The order matters as a competitive signal: Google was making its search capability programmable for developers as OpenAI was making ChatGPT a destination for search-like questions. It does not mean Google unveiled a complete consumer ChatGPT rival first, or that it invented AI-assisted search. Google had already been adding generative AI to Search through products such as AI Overviews; this announcement specifically concerned search grounding for Gemini API developers.
Rank #2
- Google Pixel 10a is a durable, everyday phone with more[1]; snap brilliant photography on a simple, powerful camera, get 30+ hours out of a full charge[2], and do more with helpful AI like Gemini[3]
- Unlocked Android phone gives you the flexibility to change carriers and choose your own data plan; it works with Google Fi, Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T, and other major carriers
- Pixel 10a is sleek and durable, with a super smooth finish, scratch-resistant Corning Gorilla Glass 7i display, and IP68 water and dust protection[4]
- The Actua display with 3,000-nit peak brightness shows up clear as day, even in direct sunlight[5]
- Plan, create, and get more done with help from Gemini, your built-in AI assistant[3]; have it screen spam calls while you focus[6]; chat with Gemini to brainstorm your meal plan[7], or bring your ideas to life with Nano Banana[8]
How the two launches differed
| Dimension | Google, October 2024 | OpenAI, October 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Primary audience | Developers building applications with Gemini | People using ChatGPT |
| Product surface | Gemini API and Google AI Studio | ChatGPT web and mobile applications |
| Role of search | Google Search served as a grounding tool within a developer’s application | Web search was a feature inside a conversational product |
| Control of experience | Developers shaped the application and how answers and citations appeared | Users searched through ChatGPT’s product interface |
| Initial access | API capability for developers; access and costs depended on the API setup | Initially rolled out to Plus, Team and SearchGPT waitlist users |
| Business direction | Make Google Search usable as part of developer-built Gemini applications | Make ChatGPT a place to seek current information |
So did Google beat OpenAI to AI search? In the narrow sense that Google announced a search-grounded Gemini API capability earlier on October 31, yes. In the sense of launching a consumer-facing search experience inside a chatbot that day, no: OpenAI’s announcement was that kind of product, while Google’s was infrastructure for developers.
What grounding means in practice
Grounding is a way to connect a model’s response to retrieved information rather than relying only on what the model learned during training. In Google’s current documented workflow, Gemini can assess whether search would help, generate one or more queries, process the results and return an answer with citation annotations. In broad terms, the sequence is:
- The user asks a question in an application built with Gemini.
- The model determines whether current web information would improve its response.
- If needed, the system runs one or more searches and processes the results.
- The model synthesizes an answer and can attach citations to sources.
This can help with freshness and make claims easier to check; it cannot guarantee that an answer is correct. Search results can be outdated, incomplete, contradictory or low-quality, and a model can misread or overstate what a cited page says. A citation is useful evidence to inspect, not proof that every sentence is supported.
Rank #3
- Google Pixel 10 Pro is the ultimate Pixel experience, featuring advanced AI with Gemini, unbelievable camera quality, impeccable design in two sizes, and the next-gen Google Tensor G5 chip[1]
- Unlocked Android phone gives you the flexibility to change carriers and choose your own data plan[2]; it works - Google Fi, Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T, and other major carriers
- Get a head start on syncing your data before it even arrives: After you purchase your new Pixel, look for an email that explains how to transfer your photos, videos, passwords, and more in just a few quick steps[11]
- Pixel’s pro camera system makes everything look amazing, even in low light; capture more of the scene with advanced Google AI models, and bring out incredible details with 100x Pro Res Zoom, stunning 50 MP images, and super steady videos in 8K[10]
- Pixel 10 Pro is built with durable aluminum and Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 for scratch and drop resistance; the 6.3-inch Super Actua display with 3,300-nit peak brightness is easy on the eyes, even in direct sunlight[3,13,18]
What the announcements meant for developers
Google’s approach was relevant to teams that wanted to build their own interface or product around Gemini and current web information. It could spare them from building a search backend themselves, while leaving them responsible for application design, user experience and how citations were exposed. It was not the simplest route for someone who just wanted to search the web in a ready-made chatbot.
The exact implementation has changed since the launch. Google’s documentation, updated August 17, 2026, uses the google_search tool for current models and distinguishes it from the older google_search_retrieval tool. The page says Gemini 3 billing is based on each search query the model decides to execute, while Gemini 2.5 and older models are billed per prompt. Model support and costs should therefore be checked in the live Google documentation rather than inferred from a 2024 description.
For example, the current documentation shows this Python pattern for a Gemini interaction with Google Search enabled:
from google import genai
client = genai.Client()
interaction = client.interactions.create(
model="gemini-3.7-flash",
input="Who won the euro 2024?",
tools=[{"type": "google_search"}]
)
print(interaction.output_text)This is a current-documentation example, not the syntax or model list from the October 2024 launch. Google’s page also provides JavaScript and REST examples. For any production decision, developers need to check supported models, regional availability, returned citation data and billing rules for their intended setup.
OpenAI’s launch, by contrast, offered a ready-to-use ChatGPT surface rather than a search tool developers could configure as their own product. Its announcement described the provider and partner-content approach, but did not identify a single universal search provider that every ChatGPT search used. Developers seeking a custom application would need to evaluate OpenAI’s separate platform and the retrieval options actually available to them, rather than treating ChatGPT search itself as an interchangeable API.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.The commercial stakes for search and publishers
The strategic distinction was bigger than whose chatbot could retrieve a page. Google was extending its search infrastructure into the developer ecosystem; OpenAI was trying to make ChatGPT a destination for people asking questions they might otherwise take to a search engine. That raises questions about who owns the user relationship, who controls how results are presented, whether users click through to sources, how retrieval and model inference are funded, and what role advertising or licensing might play.
Best Value
- Google Pixel 10 is the everyday phone unlike anything else; it has Google Tensor G5, Pixel’s most powerful chip, an incredible camera, and advanced AI - Gemini built in[1]
- Unlocked Android phone gives you the flexibility to change carriers and choose your own data plan[2]; it works with Google Fi, Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T, and other major carriers
- Unlocked Android phone gives you the flexibility to change carriers and choose your own data plan[2]; it works - Google Fi, Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T, and other major carriers
- The upgraded triple rear camera system has a new 5x telephoto lens - up to 20x Super Res Zoom for stunning detail from far away; Night Sight takes crisp, clear photos in low-light settings; and Camera Coach helps you snap your best pics[3]
- Pixel 10 is designed - scratch-resistant Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 and has an IP68 rating for water and dust protection[21]; plus, the Actua display - 3,000-nit peak brightness is easy on the eyes, even in direct sunlight[4]
OpenAI named publisher and data relationships involving the Associated Press, Axel Springer, Condé Nast, Dotdash Meredith, Financial Times, Hearst, Le Monde, News Corp, Reuters, The Atlantic, Time and Vox Media. Those are relationships OpenAI stated; they do not mean every answer draws on every listed publisher, nor do they establish traffic or revenue gains for publishers. Showing source links may help users verify information, but it does not by itself prove that referral traffic or publisher economics improved.
Likewise, contemporaneous coverage reported a Google launch-era price of $35 per 1,000 grounded queries. That is a historical October 2024 report, not current pricing. Current billing depends on model generation and Google’s live terms; the current documentation explains the billing distinction without making the reported launch figure a current rate.
What changed after the launches
ChatGPT search expanded beyond its initial paid and waitlist rollout, with OpenAI recording broader access milestones in December 2024 and February 2025. Google’s current Gemini API documentation continues to describe Search grounding, but its model names, tool names and billing details have evolved since 2024. These changes reinforce why the original event should be read as a dated comparison, not as a snapshot of current feature parity.
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