How to enable ChatGPT’s new ‘Browse with Bing’ for up-to-date internet access

Even though it feels a bit like the generative AI hype has died off a bit, the truth is we’re still just at the beginning of this journey. Now that generative AI has become a bit more normalized and everyone realizes this isn’t exactly a Terminator scenario, we can step back and see some of the really awesome ways that AI can be used to make tasks easier and workflows more streamlined.

But one of the big drawbacks to tools like ChatGPT has been their inability to scour the ever-changing web as a whole for current and up-to-date information. ChatGPT specifically has been curtailed to only utilize public data on the internet from September of 2021 and earlier, making it far more difficult for users to utilize it as a tool for anything involving current events. But that’s all changing now.

ChatGPT, welcome to the web

In an announcement this week, OpenAI has made public the ability for ChatGPT to access the internet via a new “Browse with Bing” option. This access makes it easier for users to get current info when asking questions about anything modern – from camping gear to smartphones and laptops.

ChatGPT can now browse the internet to provide you with current and authoritative information, complete with direct links to sources. It is no longer limited to data before September 2021. pic.twitter.com/pyj8a9HWkB

— OpenAI (@OpenAI) September 27, 2023

While this has technically been possible via plugins prior to this, I know I’ve not had much luck getting ChatGPT to reliably scour current sources when I asked it to. With this latest change, I’ve verified that it can head right to a particular URL with no issues and even answer questions about hardware that isn’t yet released, based on rumors and leaks. Asking it to compare the iPhone 15 to what we expect from the Pixel 8 Pro, ChatGPT was able to give me a few interesting examples of why both phones will have great cameras.

How to get it working

Of course, the minute I saw this announcement, I asked ChatGPT to summarize the main points of a post I’d just recently published. And it failed. Using the same old reply, ChatGPT basically said it couldn’t access any web content newer than September 2021. I of course began digging around to figure out what was going on, and in the same Twitter thread from above, I found someone else asking the same question and the process is quite simple. You need Plus or Enterprise ChatGPT for now; however, the tweet says that it will roll out for all users in time.

Go to settings > Beta Features and in the menu, turn on the “Browse with Bing” option. After doing so, close the menu and start a new chat. In that new chat, hover the ChatGPT 4.0 button at the top and you should be presented with the option to utilize “Browse with Bing.” Select this option.

After that is done, you can now ask questions directly utilizing a URL you want to reference or simply ask what you need and let ChatGPT go search out the answer for you. To me, the general queries and responses feel a bit like Google’s Generative Search Experience, but ChatGPT having access to the broader internet makes other tasks like writing papers or creating new content much simpler. How this tool will further enable ChatGPT to help with user requests in the future is yet to be seen, but it is definitely a big step forward for generative AI.