ChatGPT can finally access the internet in real time, but there is a catch

ChatGPT is a versatile chatbot, capable of helping you with tasks such as writing, coding, research, vacation planning, etc. However, it had a major limitation since its launch, and this defect is finally corrected – for those who are willing to pay the price.

On Wednesday, OpenAI announced via an X (formerly Twitter) that its chatbot is now able to access the Internet in real time and provide direct links to its sources. This additional feature will be available to ChatGPT Plus and Enterprise subscribers.

This means that for paying customers, ChatGPT will no longer be limited to information dating back to before 2021, which paves the way for new capabilities and increases the reliability of the chatbot.

The subscription to ChatGPT Plus costs 20 dollars per month

ChatGPT can access the internet via Microsoft’s Bing web browser. The announcement of this partnership was first made during the Microsoft Build last May and was rolled out for ChatGPT Plus users. However, after a few months, OpenAI removed it after users exploited this feature to bypass the paid subscription.

OpenAI reported that since the initial deployment in May, the company has received useful feedback from users that has been incorporated into the new update, including “follow robots.txt” and “identify user agents so that sites can control how ChatGPT interacts with them”.

To activate the feature, ChatGPT Plus and Enterprise users only have to choose “Browse with Bing” from the drop-down list under GPT-4.

The subscription to ChatGPT Plus costs $20 per month; however, for users who need the most up-to-date information, the increased accuracy and reliability may be worth the investment.

For all the other users who can’t wait to get their hands on this feature, OpenAI says it will be extended to all users soon. In the meantime, Bing Chat is a solid alternative, as it is supported by GPT-4, has Internet access, provides sources and is free.

This announcement comes just a few days after OpenAI announced that ChatGPT can “see, hear and speak”, which means that it accepts images and voice messages and that it emits voice messages in return.

The new search and response features are also limited to ChatGPT Plus and Enterprise users and will be rolled out to users over the next two weeks.

Source: “ZDNet.com “