ChatGPT Users Can Now Browse the Web as OpenAI Expands Data Access Beyond 2021 Cutoff

Earlier, the AI chatbot could only access data from the Internet up till September 2021.

By Reuters | Updated: 28 September 2023 15:02 IST

Highlights

Web browsing is available to ChatGPT Plus and Enterprise users first
ChatGPT introduced a voice chat feature earlier this week
Users can choose Browse with Bing option to look up the Internet

ChatGPT Users Can Now Browse the Web as OpenAI Expands Data Access Beyond 2021 Cutoff

ChatGPT launched last year in November

Photo Credit: Pexels/ Andrew Neel

ChatGPT users will now be able to surf the Web, Microsoft-backed OpenAI said on Wednesday, expanding the data the viral chatbot can access beyond its earlier September 2021 cutoff.

The artificial intelligence startup said its latest browsing feature would allow websites to control how ChatGPT can interact with them.

"Browsing is available to Plus and Enterprise users today, and we'll expand to all users soon. To enable, choose Browse with Bing in the selector under GPT-4," OpenAI said in a post on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

ChatGPT Updated With Support for These New Voice and Image Features

ChatGPT can now browse the internet to provide you with current and authoritative information, complete with direct links to sources. It is no longer limited to data before September 2021. pic.twitter.com/pyj8a9HWkB
— OpenAI (@OpenAI) September 27, 2023

The startup also announced a major update earlier this week that would enable ChatGPT to have voice conversations with users and interact with them using images, moving it closer to popular AI assistants like Apple's Siri.

OpenAI had earlier tested a feature that allowed users to access the latest information through the Bing search engine within its premium ChatGPT Plus offering. But it later disabled it because of fears that it could allow users to bypass paywalls.

OpenAI Launches Dall-E 3, Its Latest Text-to-Image AI Tool: Details

ChatGPT became the fastest-growing consumer application in history earlier this year, reaching 100 million monthly active users in January, before being supplanted by Meta's Threads app.

Its rise has driven up investor interest in OpenAI, with media including Reuters reporting on Tuesday that the startup is talking to shareholders about a possible sale of existing shares at a much higher valuation than a few months ago.

Last week, OpenAI also unveiled Dall-E 3, the latest version of its text-to-image tool that uses ChatGPT to help fill in prompts. Dall-E 3 will also be available to ChatGPT Plus and Enterprise customers in October via the API, the company said. Users can type in a request for an image and tweak the prompt through conversations with ChatGPT.

OpenAI said creators could opt out of using some or all of their work used to train future text-to-image tools.

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