Users Abused The ChatGPT Web Browsing Feature, So OpenAI Disabled It

(CTN News) – OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, has announced that it is discontinuing its web-browsing feature dubbed “Browse with Bing.”

As a result of the ChatGPT Browse beta, we have learned that content may be displayed in ways we don’t want, OpenAI wrote in a post published on Monday.

There have been instances where a ChatGPT Plus subscriber would ask the chatbot for the full text of a URL, and ChatGPT would respond with the complete text of the URL, bypassing any privacy settings or paywalls.

There are a number of features and benefits available exclusively to ChatGPT Plus subscribers, including access to the more powerful GPT-4, browse with Bing, as well as access to the GPT-4 Plugin Store that are unavailable to free users.

As of July 3, 2023, we’ve disabled the Browse with Bing beta feature out of a sense of caution while we address this issue so that we can do right by content owners and get this resolved as soon as possible,” an OpenAI spokesperson stated.

Earlier this month, Microsoft, a company that has invested more than $13 billion in OpenAI, integrated ChatGPT into its Bing browser, which launched in February. It took OpenAI until May to add the ability to browse to its chatbot, and OpenAI launched GPT-4 in March.

Although OpenAI has disabled Browse with Bing, several GPT-4 plugins still allow users to ask the chatbot a question about the content of the link provided, despite the fact that OpenAI has disabled Browse with Bing.

There have been reports of OpenAI working against the paid users of ChatGPT Plus, according to a ChatGPT Plus user on OpenAI’s forum.

Apparently they’re taking away Browsing this time because it reads the contents of a site the user asks for? That’s part of the reason I pay for Plus — to get the content of a site I ask for.”

As of now, OpenAI has not given a time frame for when the Browse with Bing feature will be turned back on, but they did confirm that they are working as quickly as possible to bring the feature back online.

It is with great appreciation that OpenAI tweeted, “We would like to thank the ChatGPT Plus subscribers who have been helping us test the browsing feature.

Taking a beta is a great way to start getting valuable feedback. We’ve learned a lot, and will bring it back later in the year.” This is why we launched the beta in the first place.

SEE ALSO:

Selecting the Best Solar Power Station Criteria and Top Recommendations