For the first time, OpenAI's ChatGPT can link to the web

OpenAI is considerably enhancing ChatGPT’s capabilities by introducing plug-in compatibility, allowing it real web access for the first time.

On Thursday, March 23, 2023, the business launched a plug-in waitlist and began providing access to “a small set of users.”

ChatGPT previously only had access to its training data, which only went back to 2021. According to OpenAI, plug-ins will enable it to navigate the web and interact with certain websites.

It included a list of 11 plug-ins for external sites that were initially available to users, including:

• Expedia
• FiscalNote
• Instacart
• OpenTable
• Shopify
• Slack
• Zapier

OpenAI is also developing its own plug-ins, including one for deciphering code and another dubbed “Browsing,” which allows ChatGPT to retrieve information from the Internet.

The business demonstrated the browser plug-in in action by asking how the box office sales of this year’s Oscar winners compare to recently released films.

The language model breaks down what it is doing, such as searching, visiting certain links, and reading the material before responding.

While other language models, such as Microsoft’s GPT-powered Bing Search, can browse the web, ChatGPT outperforms them by being able to connect to APIs and “perform actions on behalf of the user.”

OpenAI president and co-founder Greg Brockman presented an example of how someone may utilise ChatGPT to research recipes and purchase the required goods on InstaCart.

“We’ve added initial support for ChatGPT plug-ins — a protocol for developers to build tools for ChatGPT, with safety as a core design principle,” Brokman says.

“Deploying iteratively (starting with a small number of users & developers) to learn from contact with reality.”