OpenAI, the Microsoft-backed artificial intelligence (AI) startup which created ChatGPT, has announced a significant enhancement to the generative AI chatbot, allowing users to browse the web beyond the previously set September 2021 data cut-off. The company revealed that this new browsing feature will provide websites with the ability to govern ChatGPT's interactions with their content.
"Increasing browsing capabilities are now accessible to Plus and Enterprise users, with a broader rollout planned for all users in the near future. To activate this feature, users can select 'Browse with Bing' in the GPT-4 selector," OpenAI stated in a post on X, previously known as Twitter.
It should be noted that this puts ChatGPT on par with its biggest rival, Google's Bard, which offered access to the internet since its March 203 launch and hence has no cut-off date as such.
Additionally, OpenAI unveiled a major update earlier this week, empowering ChatGPT to engage in voice conversations with users and interact using images, bringing it closer to widely recognised AI assistants such as Apple's Siri.
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Notably, OpenAI had previously experimented with a feature allowing users to access real-time information through Bing search within the premium ChatGPT Plus offering. However, due to concerns that it might enable users to bypass paywalls, this feature was subsequently disabled.
ChatGPT achieved the status of the fastest-growing consumer application earlier this year, amassing 100 million monthly active users in January, eventually succeeded by Meta's Threads app. This surge in popularity has piqued investor interest in OpenAI. Recent reports, including one from Reuters, suggest that the startup is in discussions with shareholders regarding a potential sale of existing shares at a significantly higher valuation than just a few months ago.