Calvin Wankhede / Android Authority
TL;DR
- ChatGPT now offers its web search functionality to all signed-in users, including those on the free tier.
- This lets users get real-time information and relevant web results sans the sponsored content.
- OpenAI is also integrating the feature into Advanced Voice, unlocking real-time results during audio conversations.
Back in late October, OpenAI rolled out its web search feature (aka SearchGPT) to ChatGPT Plus subscribers. For those unfamiliar, the integration gives the AI chatbot access to real-time information, letting users browse current news, world events, etc. To serve more users, the company is now expanding ChatGPT search to all accounts — including free ones.
OpenAI has announced that all signed-in ChatGPT users can now rely on its web search functionality for free. The perk is integrated into the company’s GPT-4o and GPT-4o mini models and is ideal for checking up-to-date news, weather forecasts, events, stocks, sports, and more. Interested users can access it using the official ChatGPT mobile app and website.
What sets ChatGPT’s execution and Google Search apart is the minimalist, ad-free user interface OpenAI has opted for. The chatbot provides AI-generated summaries of browsed content, complete with citations linking to the original sources. Unlike Google, it doesn’t clutter the first page with sponsored content that often isn’t the best or most relevant option to the user.
In the included screenshots, for example, Google Search filled my entire screen with ads, and I had to scroll down to find the desired results. On the other hand, ChatGPT listed high-quality options and summarized what each provides. So, with OpenAI now offering this feature for free, certain users may ditch Google Search.
Beyond that, ChatGPT is also baking real-time web results into its Advanced Voice feature. Before this integration, audio conversations with the chatbot were limited to knowledge obtained from the model’s training, barring it from accessing updated information. To see it in action, you can watch the official demo embedded above.
