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OpenAI has announced that ChatGPT can now browse the web within their conversations – again – with a post on X. First announced back in June, the ability was removed in just a week because it could access paid content. Called Browse with Bing, the feature uses Microsoft’s search engine to provide answers from “current and authoritative” sources, which are also linked in the responses.
Browse with Bing is currently available only for Plus and Enterprise subscribers of OpenAI, but the company says it will make it accessible to all users soon. Until now, ChatGPT was the only major AI chatbot with the lack of web access. Alternatives like Bing Chat and Google Bard have offered this functionality right from their day of launch – and for free.
“Browsing is particularly useful for tasks that require up-to-date information, such as helping you with technical research, trying to choose a bike, or planning a vacation,” reads OpenAI’s tweet.
The feature also allows users to verify the accuracy and credibility of the chatbot’s answers by clicking on the links to the original sources. This is especially important given that AI bots can sometimes generate false or misleading information. OpenAI also respects the privacy and preferences of the websites it crawls by identifying itself with a user agent and following the Robots.txt rules.
OpenAI first introduced Browse with Bing in June, but had to remove it shortly after due to some users exploiting it to access paywalled content. The company has since fixed this issue and relaunched the feature with its latest version release.
To use Browse with Bing, users need to enable it in the settings of ChatGPT’s web interface or iOS app. While OpenAI hasn’t specified the platforms the feature is available on, several replies under the Twitter post say that web search is currently only available on the web, not the mobile apps.
Browse with Bing is one of the many features that OpenAI has added to ChatGPT, which is powered by its powerful GPT-4 language model. ChatGPT can also generate creative content such as poems, stories, songs, and more using its own words and knowledge. Users can try out these features by subscribing to one of OpenAI’s plans and starting a chat with ChatGPT.
As already specified above, web access currently requires the Rs 1,950 per month ChatGPT Plus subscription. If you have that, just proceed with the instructions as provided by OpenAI:
Click on ‘Profile & Settings’
Select ‘Beta features’
Toggle on ‘Browse with Bing’
Choose Browse with Bing in the selector under GPT-4.
