ChatGPT Can Now Browse the Web, Help Book Flights and More

Certain ChatGPT users and developers now have access to the first wave of plugins, which enable ChatGPT to access new live data sources from the web, including third-party sources like Expedia, Kayak, and Instacart. Before this upgrade, ChatGPT was only able to access the training data it had collected up until 2021.

Although not a perfect comparison, OpenAI's website states that plugins can act as language models' "eyes and ears," providing them with access to data that is either too recent, too private, or too specific to be included in the training data.

For example, ChatGPT may now provide information on queries like how the box office receipts of this year's Oscar winners compare to those of other recently released films. The browser plugin, which displays the sources the generative AI service is obtaining information from before spitting out a response, is responsible for this new functionality.

OpenAI co-founder Sam Altman tweeted on Thursday, "Plugins are pretty experimental still but we think something is amazing in this direction. It has received a lot of requests.

Since its release in November, ChatGPT has generated a lot of interest in the computer industry since it overlays a huge language model with a conversational-style user interface. Companies like Google, Microsoft, Adobe, Snapchat, and Grammarly have hurried to demonstrate and release similar generative AI capabilities in their own products during the past few months.

However, the outcomes that systems like ChatGPT produce have obvious flaws. An internet-connected chatbot poses a concern, according to OpenAI's own research. For example, it might have the propensity to cite sources that aren't trustworthy or, as OpenAI notes, "raise safety difficulties by taking harmful or unintentional acts, enhancing the capabilities of bad actors who would swindle, mislead, or abuse others."

The advantages have been emphasized by those who support these AI services.

Greg Brockman, a co-founder of OpenAI, on Thursday, shared a video on Twitter that explains how to use ChatGPT's Instacart plugin to help with meal planning. In the video, ChatGPT suggests a recipe for chickpea salad before adding the necessary items to Instacart so they can be ordered with only a few instructions.

An Expedia Twitter video demonstrates how to use the Expedia plugin to effectively transform ChatGPT into your AI travel advisor, assisting customers in making hotel and airfare reservations. Formerly, ChatGPT was only able to locate locations and make itineraries, but not this.

"Plugins can be installed to assist with a wide range of tasks. We can't wait to see what the devs come up with!" Tweets were made by Altman.

OpenAI claimed it has put measures in place to mitigate dangers in the responses ChatGPT gives to questions and has first restricted access to a small set of users and engineers. A queue for interested parties is available here.