When ChatGPT first launched, the comparisons were inevitable. Here was an AI tool that could answer questions, summarise documents, and generate information on command. Naturally, people framed it as a “Google replacement” - a new kind of search engine with a conversational interface.

But according to Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, that framing no longer fits. In a recent talk at Y Combinator, Altman reflected on how far the technology has evolved- and why the old narrative is now holding us back.

He admitted that early versions of ChatGPT did feel like a better version of search. It was reactive. You asked a question, it responded. It saved you time trawling through links. But that utility, while powerful, was only the tip of the iceberg.

Today’s ChatGPT is something else entirely.

Altman described the current generation of GPT-4, especially with tools like Code Interpreter, Deep Research, memory, and custom instructions, as more akin to a junior employee - someone you can delegate tasks to, not just someone who fetches information. That might sound like a small shift, but it’s a seismic one in terms of capability and positioning.

Instead of asking it questions like you would a search engine, users are now assigning it work: “Plan this itinerary.” “Analyse this spreadsheet.” “Draft a business proposal.” “Summarise these earnings reports and compare them to last quarter.”

These aren’t search queries. They’re workstreams. And ChatGPT is executing them - end to end.

This reframes the value proposition entirely. Google was designed to help you find answers. ChatGPT is increasingly designed to deliver outcomes. It doesn’t point you to resources; it becomes the resource. That’s not to say one replaces the other - far from it. Altman was clear that ChatGPT isn’t aiming to compete directly with Google. He even mentioned that Google is “incredibly good at what it does,” and that his team hasn’t cracked “AI search” in the way people might assume.

But he also made another revealing comment: he no longer uses Google himself.

That’s not because Google doesn’t work. It’s because for many of the cognitive tasks that once required jumping between websites, ChatGPT can now handle the job entirely in one place. Research, writing, calculations, reasoning - it’s all integrated.

So where does that leave us?

It means the narrative needs to shift. ChatGPT isn’t the new Google. It’s the first mainstream example of something much bigger: AI as a personalised assistant that doesn’t just give you information, but actively helps you think, create, and build.

That has enormous implications for productivity, education, marketing, operations, and business in general. We're entering an era where tools won’t just support workflows - they’ll carry them out. AI isn’t replacing search. It’s replacing the need to search in the first place for an increasing number of everyday tasks.

The future isn’t about asking better questions.

It’s about learning how to delegate to machines that can act, adapt, and evolve with us.