After nearly a year of being released to consumers, ChatGPT has finally gone online with its connection to the internet being made official by OpenAI. ChatGPT’s internet connection was deferred following an initial attempt at making Microsoft’s Bing the official browser the chatbot connected to. The plugin soon fell through due to ChatGPT users accessing paywalled content, causing OpenAI to run into numerous copyright and privacy issues. That apart, ChatGPT’s connection to the internet also comes at a time when other major competitors like Google Bard remain connected to the internet. Opening up ChatGPT’s access to the internet essentially removes the limitation on the chatbot’s knowledge base that remains restricted to September 2021, making way for several positive and negative prospects.
The Implications of ChatGPT’s Internet Connection
Internet connectivity has the potential to bring about new insights surrounding chatbot functioning and behavior.
ChatGPT going online brings numerous exciting possibilities to users who intend on using the AI platform for research and web search purposes. The information it can draw from the internet makes it more utilitarian for numerous users, essentially providing OpenAI with the prospects of extending its client base further. After numerous rounds of bug fixing and preventing users from accessing paywalled content, OpenAI is finally ready to offer the “Browse with Bing” plugin once more. The feature will initially be available only to ChatGPT Plus and ChatGPT Enterprise users. ChatGPT’s access to the internet will be available only on the GPT-4 model for the time being. However, the firm intends to extend the scope of the update across all of its models and even to free users in the future. Internet access is through the plugin and users can access even the latest information regarding current global events and much more. While ChatGPT’s internet access is an important step in moving toward a more robust chatbot, it also opens the tool up to external threats and attacks from malicious actors. Cybersecurity risk from data breaches, leaked customer information, and the exploitation of vulnerabilities increases manifold, making AI safety a bigger challenge.
Microsoft’s Bing will remain the primary browser for the chatbot, with users who are utilizing the API keys in their ChatGPT account already using the LLM’s capabilities through other applications on the internet. The new feature will also bolster OpenAI’s intentions of creating a full-fledged app store for AI chatbots alongside their trove of plugins, which only seems to be growing by the minute. While Bing Chat offers just about the same service, albeit through a different platform, dedicated OpenAI users will be excited to access up-to-date information from their preferred chatbot. While there are safety concerns and risks associated with ChatGPT going online, the company claims to have implemented numerous internal as well as external safeguards to prevent malicious use of the chatbot.
An Online AI Chatbot: OpenAI ChatGPT’s Future
ChatGPT can access the internet only through a GPT-4 linked plugin.
ChatGPT’s internet connection brings it in line with other competing chatbots that are online already. The headstart it got in the niche is certainly bound to help it get ahead in the stiff competition it has with other rivals like Anthropic’s Claude and Google Bard. Moreover, other useful updates such as the launch of voice and visual input also place OpenAI’s ChatGPT in a beneficial position. With the release of OpenAI’s new GPT-3.5 Turbo Instruct model, the firm is also constantly revamping its technologies and updating extant frameworks to better function in a fast-paced AI environment. The connection to the internet is just another step in the long list of consistent advancements OpenAI has been making to its flagship product.
FAQs
1. How can ChatGPT access the internet?
ChatGPT accesses the internet through the “Browse with Bing” plugin, which is available under the GPT-4 language model tab on the main interface. Users can merely toggle the plugin to begin accessing the internet through the chatbot.
2. Can anyone access ChatGPT’s internet-linked version?
Currently, only paid subscribers of ChatGPT Plus and ChatGPT Enterprise can access the internet-linked version of ChatGPT. However, OpenAI intends to release the feature to all users across the board.
3. When did ChatGPT get access to the internet?
Though ChatGPT was connected to the Bing Browser in May, the feature was withdrawn due to customers misusing the update to access paywalled content. After fixing outstanding concerns and bugs, internet access was restored to ChatGPT on September 27, 2023.