ChatGPT search can now be used without an account

What's new

On February 5, 2025, OpenAI announced that anyone can use ChatGPT's search feature at chatgpt.com without signing up or logging in. You open the site and click the search button. According to BGR, the change applies in the regions where ChatGPT is available.

The search feature has been rolled out in stages. It launched on October 31, 2024 for paying subscribers and users from the waitlist. On December 16, 2024, it was expanded to users with a free account. Now the account requirement is gone entirely.

What's smart

The search returns answers from the web and shows links to the sources used. You get a single consolidated answer instead of a list of blue links, but you can still click through and check where the information comes from.

The search model is a fine-tuned version of GPT-4o. That means OpenAI has adapted its existing language model to search and cite sources. It uses third-party search providers and direct content agreements with publishers.

The practical upside is a lower barrier to entry. According to Android Authority, the change lowers the barrier for people who hesitate to create an account. Android Authority also highlights that the results are free of ads.

Cheaper or better?

It's free to try without an account, but the sources give no specific prices, measurements or user numbers. It's also unclear whether there are limits on how much you can search without logging in. According to Android Authority, OpenAI has not disclosed any restrictions, and features such as personal conversations and memory may still be reserved for registered users.

Compared with competitors, BGR sees the change as a step toward challenging Google's dominance in search. It comes after OpenAI's launches of the Operator and Deep Research agents and amid competitive pressure from DeepSeek. The sources contain no direct comparison of quality or speed against Google or others.

It's also not clear whether the service is available in Denmark and the EU. The sources only say "regions where ChatGPT is available." The article is based on the February 2025 announcement, and the feature may have changed since.

What it's good for

The feature suits quick questions where you want an up-to-date answer from the web with source references, without having to create a user account first. That could be news, facts or something you want to look up on the go.

For companies and employees, it makes it easy to let colleagues try ChatGPT's search without having to use a personal email address to sign up. If you want saved conversations or memory, you will probably still need an account.