ChatGPT’s new web-browsing power means it’s no longer stuck in 2021

From PC World: ChatGPT’s AI has one big problem: It was only programmed with information up to a few years ago. By adding web-browsing capabilities with its partner, Microsoft, OpenAI has brought ChatGPT up to date.

OpenAI’s major update to ChatGPT actually added three significant features: its newfound ability to browse the web, new plugin capabilities, and a sandbox in which it can execute and test code. The latter feature means that you’ll actually see graphics in ChatGPT output, though what was shown was (for now) simple line graphs and charts, as well as some image manipulation. A fourth feature, a retrieval plugin, also means that developers can begin asking ChatGPT to incorporate documents of the developer’s choosing, in the future.

The update means that ChatGPT is expanding on several fronts, potentially eliminating a competitor’s advantage: Google’s Bard may be boring, but it knows what’s going on in the present, thanks to its integration with Google Search.

ChatGPT won’t open a web browser, per se, but behind the scenes it’s working with Microsoft’s Bing (which has its own AI chatbot, of course) to browse the open web. In one example, ChatGPT was asked about the latest Oscar winners. The app indicated that it was browsing specific sites to learn the information, even “clicking on” specific sources of information. Previously, ChatGPT was current up until about 2021, with certain exceptions.

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