Introducing "Web Search Preview" in OpenAI

Web Search Preview in OpenAI refers to a feature in certain tools (like ChatGPT with browsing capabilities or SearchGPT) that allows users to preview how a web page appears in search results — especially AI-generated ones like ChatGPT’s answers, Perplexity.ai, or Google’s AI Overviews.

This feature is crucial for LLM Visibility — the practice of optimizing brand presence in AI-generated responses.

What is "Web Search Preview" in OpenAI?

  • It shows how content from a given URL is interpreted and ranked by large language models (LLMs) and search-integrated AIs.

  • Instead of just returning a traditional search snippet (like Google), it shows:

    • What the AI thinks the page is about.

    • What kinds of questions it answers.

    • Whether it's cited in answers.

    • Its relative authority or usefulness.

How Can This Be Used to Audit Websites?

You can use Web Search Preview to audit your or your competitor’s website in terms of AI visibility and readiness for AI-driven search interfaces.

Use Cases in Auditing:

How to Perform a Web Search Preview Audit (Framework)

  1. Select Key URLs

    • Home page, product pages, FAQs, blog posts.

  2. Run Preview Queries

    • Use tools like:

      • ChatGPT w/ Browsing

      • Perplexity.ai

      • Poe (Claude/GPT-4)

      • Brave Summarizer

      • Google SGE / AI Overviews

  3. Ask AI "What is this page about?"

    • See how your site is summarized.

    • See if your brand/products are mentioned.

  4. Run FAQ-style prompts

    • “What is the best {{product_type}} for {{use_case}}?”

    • Check if your page is cited.

  5. Record Coverage

    • Log which URLs are appearing in AI results.

    • Note how they are framed (authoritative, salesy, outdated, etc.).

  6. Compare to Competitors

    • Use same approach on 3–5 key competitors.

    • Find citation gaps and topical advantages.

  7. Create a Visibility Report

    • Show:

      • Pages that rank

      • Pages that don’t

      • Pages misinterpreted

      • Missing structured data

      • Suggested content improvements

Bonus: Tools to Help

  • AlsoAsked, AnswerThePublic – Good for mapping common questions.

  • Google Search Console – Still useful for legacy search visibility.

  • Schema.org Validator – To check structured data issues.

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