Knowledge baseSourcesOlivier de Segonzac (RESONEO)

ChatGPT Search: the complete teardown

Author Olivier de Segonzac (RESONEO) Date 2026-02-01 Model state GPT-5.2/5.3, frontend bundle and network, France, February 2026 (updated on an ongoing basis) Open source →

Key findings

The most comprehensive public teardown of ChatGPT search: classifier, fan-out engine, provider ecosystem, entity linking, fusion, shopping, maps and news modules, feature gates, citation types.

Checked against our data

The citation types and the fan-out modes match our reference and mode fields. Much else is derived from the frontend bundle and not verifiable from the client. The teardown is the map, the tracker measures individual streets on it.

ClaimStatusEvidence
Sonic classifier, fan-out engine (Search/Shopping/Images), providers SerpAPI/SearchAPI.io/Getty/Google PlacesunverifiableProviders server-side. Fan-out types visible for us as modes fast/slow/product/image/business.
Statsig feature gates: 424 gates, 99 dynamic configs, 237 layer configsunverifiableWe capture settings_keys (44) and feature_flags from /settings/user, not the Statsig bundle.
Three citation types: Citations, More sources, Hidden linksconfirmedurl (in the text), sources_footnote (list), grouped_webpages/search_result_groups (object only).

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