OpenAI has announced that its AI assistant, ChatGPT, can now browse the internet and provide real-time information. Previously, the system was limited to knowledge up until September 2021, as that was the most recent data it had been trained on. The new feature, called Browse with Bing, allows ChatGPT to access current and authoritative information, complete with direct links to sources. This browsing capability is particularly useful for tasks that require up-to-date information, such as technical research, bike selection, or vacation planning.
Browse with Bing works within the normal Bing Chat window and notifies the user when it is searching the web for information. It also includes citation links with its answers. However, this is not the first time ChatGPT has had web browsing capabilities. It had a similar feature available to Plus subscribers in July, but it was removed due to users exploiting it to bypass paywalls. The introduction of browsing follows another recent update that introduced multimodal functions to the chatbot.
Overall, OpenAI’s ChatGPT now has the ability to provide users with current and reliable information by browsing the internet, expanding its knowledge beyond the limitations of its initial training data. This enhancement allows users to benefit from up-to-date information for various tasks and research purposes. However, it is worth noting that previous web browsing features were removed due to misuse, indicating the need for careful monitoring and regulation to prevent abuse of the system.