OpenAI Expands ChatGPT’s Capabilities to Browsing the Web
OpenAI, backed by Microsoft, has announced a significant expansion of ChatGPT’s capabilities, allowing users to browse the internet. This development marks a major upgrade from its previous capabilities, which were limited to a fixed knowledge cutoff in September 2021.
The key points of this update are as follows:
1. Browsing the Web: OpenAI’s latest feature enables ChatGPT to access the internet, giving users the ability to explore web content. This feature comes with certain controls to ensure responsible usage.
2. Controlled Interaction: Websites will have some level of control over how ChatGPT interacts with their content. This helps in preventing misuse and ensuring that ChatGPT respects the policies and guidelines set by individual websites.
3. Availability: Initially, web browsing is available to Plus and Enterprise users. OpenAI plans to expand this feature to all users in the near future. Users can enable web browsing by choosing “Browse with Bing” in the selector under GPT-4.
4. Voice and Multimedia Interaction: OpenAI has also announced an update that allows ChatGPT to engage in voice conversations with users and interact using images. This positions ChatGPT closer to popular AI assistants like Apple’s Siri, enhancing its capabilities.
5. Previous Testing: OpenAI had previously experimented with a feature that allowed users to access real-time information through the Bing search engine within the premium ChatGPT Plus offering. However, this feature was temporarily disabled due to concerns about potential misuse to bypass paywalls.
ChatGPT has experienced remarkable growth, becoming one of the fastest-growing consumer applications in history, with 100 million monthly active users in January. This expansion of capabilities has garnered significant investor interest in OpenAI, potentially leading to a higher valuation and discussions about the sale of existing shares.
OpenAI’s ongoing efforts to enhance ChatGPT’s capabilities and expand its access to the internet reflect the organization’s commitment to advancing the capabilities of AI-powered language models while maintaining responsible usage and ethical considerations.
