Summary
Gone are the days when an internet surfing app was your only way to find information.
Now, you might use finely-tuned AI chatbots to search the web, including ChatGPT.
What Is ChatGPT’s Web Search?
This is known as ChatGPT Browse or Browse with Bing, and was permanently introduced in November 2022.
So, what does the web search tool look like today?
ChatGPT uses the Bing search engine to find information based on your search request.
At the time of writing, other search engines are not available.
ChatGPT provides a list of content types it isn’t allowed to provide, as you could see below.
Mainly, ChatGPT cannot provide reproductions or transformations of legally protected content.
On top of this, ChatGPT cannot provide any sort of adult content.
At the top of the page, you’ll see the name of the LLM version currently being used.
If it’s set at GPT-3.5, nudge the drop-down arrow, and opt for GPT-4.
Alternatively, you might ask a question and specify that you want a recent result.
In this case, you may be better off using Browse with Bing.
ChatGPT often provides its sources via a hyperlinked quote in brackets (["]).
choose this, and you’ll be taken to the page from which ChatGPT got the information it provided.
GPT-4 is by no means a perfect tool, and its web search feature can sometimes provide flawed results.
A great way to avoid these pitfalls is to be very specific in your request.
This narrows down the scope of the search results, saving you time and energy.
Additionally, you should always check the sources fromm which ChatGPT gets its information.
ChatGPT has been known to provide hyperlinks to entirely fabricated sources, as found in a2023 NIH study.
ChatGPT can evenhide its web sources, making it hard to trust in certain scenarios.
So, before taking anything as oath, fact-check what you’re told.
This will allow you to confirm whether ChatGPT has provided accurate data.
