- ChatGPT has recently been bashed for not accessing real-time information and accessing the web
- ChatGPT creator OpenAI had promised its users that they were in process of developing a tool to allow the chatbot access internet
- OpenAI has now confirmed that ChatGPT can now access the internet and communicate with third-party websites
Artificial intelligence-powered chatbot, ChatGPT can now retrieve information from online sources and communicate with third-party websites. This is thanks to a new plugin feature introduced by its creator, OpenAI.
The plugin feature is still in “limited” alpha and will originally be available to a small group of users. It is then expected to expand to a larger audience. According to a March 23 announcement, users must join a waitlist to gain entry to the new Chat GPT Plus function.
READ: Bye ChatGPT, Hi GPT-4: OpenAI releases a mindblowing invention
Initially, only 11 plugins will be accessible. These plugins enable users to do everything from checking the scores of live sporting events to scheduling an international flight and ordering food for home delivery. The company also stated that it is “gradually rolling out plugins” in order to evaluate its real-world use.
We’ve added initial support for ChatGPT plugins — a protocol for developers to build tools for ChatGPT, with safety as a core design principle. Deploying iteratively (starting with a small number of users & developers) to learn from contact with reality: https://t.co/ySek2oevod pic.twitter.com/S61MTpddOV
— Greg Brockman (@gdb) March 23, 2023
E-commerce platforms Shopify, Klarna, and Instacart are among the sites enabled by the plugin. However, travel search engines Expedia and KAYAK, are also enabled by the new plugin feature.
According to the announcement, the plugins also include the math computer, Wolfram. This is for performing calculations and the corporate messaging tool Slack.
FiscalNote, Milo Family AI, OpenTable, Shop, Speak, and Zapier are some of the other applications available.
How does ChatGPT access the internet?
ChatGPT searches for information using the Bing API and navigates findings and interacts with websites using a text-based web browser.
It can synthesize data from numerous sources to provide a more grounded response. It also cites the sources it used so that users can confirm where ChatGPT got its answer.
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The plug-in capabilities were developed in response to high demand from OpenAI’s user base since the company debuted ChatGPT on November 30.
Mitchell Hashimoto, the founder of software company HashiCorp and a pioneer of the ChatGPT plugin API, posted on his Twitter on March 23 that it is one of the most “impressive” computer applications he has ever used:
I've developed a lot of plugin systems, and the OpenAI ChatGPT plugin interface might be the damn craziest and most impressive approach I've ever seen in computing in my entire life.
— Mitchell Hashimoto (@mitchellh) March 23, 2023
The ability to use plugins that connect to the internet could address one of ChatGPT’s potentially greatest shortcomings. It was trained with data only up to September 2021 and lacks internet access to obtain more recent data.
OpenAI released ChatGPT-4, the newest version of its artificial intelligence Chatbot, earlier this month.
So far, the new version has passed many of the most difficult high school and law school examinations in the 90th percentile.
