We tested ChatGPT Search with a question on Elon Musk. It started hallucinating

OpenAI has released ChatGPT Search to take on Google, which has long dominated the search engine space. On Thursday, the AI giant added a set of new search functions to its popular large language model ChatGPT, opting to integrate the feature into the chatbot instead of launching a separate product.
OpenAI promises that ChatGPT Search “can get fast, timely answers with links to relevant web sources.” However, the jury is still out on the accuracy of its results.
When HT.com put ChatGPT Search to the test, it answered some questions correctly, but made errors while answering others.
HT.com asked ChatGPT Search a series of questions, some of which it managed to get right. However, when we asked the AI tool about Elon Musk’s visit to India, it claimed that Musk had visited India in 2024.
ChatGPT Search told us that the billionaire CEO of Tesla visited India last month (which is false), and met Prime Minister Narendra Modi to “discuss a potential $2 to $3 billion investment” (again false, Elon Musk did not meet PM Modi in October 2024).
The question: “Tell me about Elon Musk’s India visit.”
ChatGPT Search response: “Elon Musk’s recent visit to India, which took place in late October 2024, was highly anticipated as it marked a significant step for Tesla’s operations in the country. Musk met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss a potential $2 to $3 billion investment aimed at establishing a Tesla manufacturing facility. This initiative aligns with India’s push for local production and electric vehicle adoption.
“During his visit, Musk also engaged with Indian space startups, highlighting interest in the local space tech sector. Furthermore, Tesla has signed a deal with Tata Group for semiconductor supply, indicating plans to enhance its supply chain in India.”

ChatGPT linked back to a Techcircle piece to support its claim that Elon Musk visited India in October 2024.
In fact, the article in question dates back to April 2024 and was written before Musk cancelled his planned visit to India citing “very heavy Tesla obligations.” Nowhere does the piece mention that Musk visited India in October this year.
In short, ChatGPT Search hallucinated entire incidents about the world’s richest man visiting India, meeting the prime minister and engaging with space startups.
On the other hand, ChatGPT Search answered other questions correctly. For example, asked to give information on Donald Trump’s India visit, the AI chatbot replied: “Yes, Donald Trump visited India from February 24 to 25, 2020. This was his first official visit as President, during which he attended a large rally called “Namaste Trump” in Ahmedabad, where he was welcomed by thousands of supporters.”
When we posed the same question about Elon Musk’s India visit to Google’s AI chatbot Gemini, it managed to get the answer right.

“Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, postponed his planned visit to India in April 2024 due to ‘very heavy Tesla obligations.’ The visit was scheduled to take place April 20–22,” Gemini told HT.com, which is correct.
Gemini also correctly explained that Musk cancelled his visit to India despite confirming it earlier.
Google upended its search engine in May with AI-generated written summaries now frequently appearing at the top of search results. The summaries aim to quickly answer a user’s search query so that they don’t necessarily need to click a link and visit another website for more information.
(With inputs from agencies)