OpenAI goes one better and shows what competing with Google can look like.
If you search for something on the internet, you probably do it with Google, right? Maybe some of you work with Perplexity.ai, Gemini or Copilot. These three AI platforms can already access real-time data from the internet. Not so ChatGPT – until now.
OpenAI has announced the new feature on the
Using ChatGPT Search on the web
In detail: If you want to use ChatGPT’s search function from now on, you just have to use ChatGPT as before. The chatbot will recognize from the context of your request whether an internet search is necessary. However, you can also activate the search manually.
OpenAI has shown what this can look like on their X-Account:
Introducing ChatGPT search
ChatGPT can now search the web in a much better way than before so you get fast, timely answers with links to relevant web sources.https://t.co/7yilNgqH9T pic.twitter.com/z8mJWS8J9c
— OpenAI (@OpenAI) October 31, 2024
What exactly can the function do? ChatGPT will not only give you text, tables or lists when you search for data on the internet.According to The Verge you will get interactive elements, graphs and of course links to the sources.
For this purpose, there is also a source sidebar that allows you to scroll through a list of relevant websites.
Similar to Google Maps, ChatGPT is also supposed to prepare interactive maps to show routes, for example.
According to OpenAI, the search function will consist of “a mixture of search technologies.” Among others, Microsoft Bing will also be used. Furthermore, OpenAI makes it clear that it is a variant of GPT-4o.
Didn’t ChatGPT already have knowledge from the internet?This is only partially the case, since ChatGPT’s knowledge was limited to a period between 2021 and 2023, depending on the model.
The catch: The search function is currently only activated for paying Plus users. Everyone else will have to wait a few more weeks, but we already know this approach from previous new releases from OpenAI.
Accordingly, we assume that the rest of us will also be able to enjoy the new search function in a few weeks.
How do I use the function? Once the function has been activated for you, you can use it in your browser on both PC and Mac, as well as on iOS and Android.
