OpenAI, the pioneering artificial intelligence research organization, is gearing up to announce its latest innovation – an AI-driven search product. Sources familiar with the matter revealed that the announcement is slated for Monday, intensifying the rivalry between OpenAI and tech behemoth Google.

While the exact date of the announcement remains subject to change, it has not been previously disclosed. Reports from Bloomberg and The Information have hinted at OpenAI's foray into the search domain, positioning it as a potential competitor to Google and Perplexity, a well-funded AI search startup.

In response to queries, OpenAI declined to comment ahead of Reuters' publication of its report on Thursday. However, the anticipation heightened when the company later hinted at a live event on Monday, teasing "demo some ChatGPT and GPT-4 updates." CEO Sam Altman further fueled speculation, clarifying that the unveiling wouldn't be GPT-5 or a search engine, but rather something novel that the company is enthusiastic about.

The news had a notable impact on Alphabet's stock, which partially rebounded from a 2% dip following Altman's disclosure, closing down 0.9% on the same day.

Observers note that OpenAI's timing strategically precedes Google's annual I/O conference, scheduled to commence on Tuesday. The conference is anticipated to witness Google's unveiling of various AI-related products.

OpenAI's forthcoming search product is an extension of its flagship ChatGPT, empowering the chatbot to fetch direct information from the web along with citations, according to Bloomberg. ChatGPT, renowned for its human-like responses generated by cutting-edge AI models, has been hailed as an alternative for sourcing online information. However, its efficacy in delivering accurate, real-time data has been a point of contention. The integration with Microsoft's Bing for paid subscribers was an earlier attempt to address this challenge. In contrast, Google has been enhancing its eponymous search engine with generative AI features.

Startup Perplexity, founded by a former OpenAI researcher, has carved a niche by offering an AI-native search interface with comprehensive results. Its approach includes citations, images, and text, garnering 10 million monthly active users as per a January blog post.

Despite OpenAI's previous successes – ChatGPT boasted the title of the fastest application to reach 100 million monthly active users in late 2022 – the platform has faced fluctuations in traffic over the past year, only recently approaching its peak from May 2023. The retirement of ChatGPT plugins in April signaled the company's quest for new avenues to enrich user experience.

With the impending announcement, OpenAI aims to not only augment ChatGPT's capabilities but also reinforce its competitive stance in the AI-driven search landscape. As industry enthusiasts await Monday's revelation, the stage is set for a pivotal moment in the evolution of AI-powered information retrieval.