Instant Answers: OpenAI Adds Web Search to ChatGPT

OpenAI has added a new search function to its AI chatbot, ChatGPT. Now, instead of pulling only from its internal knowledge base, ChatGPT can access real-time information from the internet when needed. This means users can get fast, timely answers with links to web sources, directly from within the chat. The feature isn’t a separate product—OpenAI chose to build it right into ChatGPT itself, making it easier to use.

When a user asks something that might need recent information, ChatGPT decides if it should run a live web search. OpenAI explains that the search function relies on third-party search providers and content from OpenAI’s partners. This approach makes sure users are seeing information from trusted sources, even for recent events.The search function runs on a version of GPT-4 that has been fine-tuned for web-based data, ensuring responses are both accurate and up-to-date.

This new feature is currently available to ChatGPT Plus and Team users, with plans to roll it out to enterprise customers and educators over the next few weeks. Free users will get access in the coming months. To make sure the information it pulls is reliable, OpenAI has signed content deals with several well-known publishers, including Condé Nast, Time, the Financial Times, Axel Springer (which owns Business Insider), Le Monde, and Prisa Media. OpenAI has worked closely with these media companies to gather feedback, and publishers can choose to appear in ChatGPT’s search results, allowing verified content to reach users.

The new search feature builds on OpenAI’s experimental SearchGPT, a real-time search engine prototype that it tested in July 2023. That trial has now evolved into a fully integrated tool within ChatGPT itself, reaching a much larger user base.

This update comes as OpenAI continues to grow. The company recently raised $6.6 billion from investors, putting its valuation at an estimated $157 billion. This funding and increased valuation show that OpenAI is now one of the world’s most valuable private companies, and it has big plans to keep expanding ChatGPT’s capabilities.