ChatGPT has come of age and can now browse the internet

1 day ago

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OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said ‘we are so back’ on X as ChatGPT gets a new Browse feature bringing it up to speed with current info.

ChatGPT can finally provide users with up-to-date information after creator OpenAI said the AI chatbot can now browse the web using Bing.

Prior to the announcement yesterday (27 September), ChatGPT could only access information based on training data up to September 2021. This meant that the chatbot didn’t include information about any events or developments that took place since.

OpenAI said the functionality is now rolling out to all premium users who pay for the service. Browse can be enabled in the Beta features setting by clicking Browse with Bing under GPT-4.

“ChatGPT can now browse the internet to provide you with current and authoritative information, complete with direct links to sources,” the company wrote in an update.

This comes just days after Open said ChatGPT will soon be able to listen and talk to its users, as well as view images uploaded to it.

OpenAI said that the new, more “intuitive” interface to be rolled out over the coming weeks will allow people to hold conversations with ChatGPT and show the chatbot images that can then be discussed.

CEO Sam Altman took to X to express his excitement at the latest Browse feature. “We are so back,” he wrote on the platform that was formerly called Twitter.

The San Francisco-based company backed by Microsoft is reportedly in talks with investors about a potential share sale that would value the start-up at up to $90bn, making OpenAI one of the most valuable start-ups in the world.

Last month, the company unveiled its new enterprise-grade ChatGPT offering with more privacy and security along with unlimited higher-speed access to GPT-4, longer context windows for processing longer inputs and other upgrades.

Earlier this year, OpenAI faced a major class-action lawsuit from a US law firm on the grounds that it scraped the internet to train ChatGPT, potentially violating the rights of millions. Authors including Margaret Atwood and Sarah Silverman have also sued the company for copyright infringement.

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Vish Gain is a journalist with Silicon Republic

editorial@siliconrepublic.com