OpenAI has officially launched ChatGPT’s ‘Plugins’ function.

On the fifteenth (local time), OpenAI announced on its blog that it might start a beta test of a latest feature called ‘Web browsing’ and third-party plug-ins targeting paid subscribers of ChatGPT Plus.

You need to use each function by activating the net browsing and plug-in items on the settings screen of ChatGPT Plus.

The online browsing function can display Web search results using Microsoft’s (MS) search engine ‘Bing’ in keeping with input prompts.

A plug-in is a function that links other app services to ChatGPT. The plugin feature gives you access to the ChatGPT plugin store with over 70 plugins.

Platforms comparable to Apple’s App Store and Google’s Play Store are created. Users can use app services linked with plug-ins in real time while talking to ChatGPT. Users can download up to 3 plug-ins at a time, and installation is free.

When the ChatGPT plug-in was announced in March, 11 corporations comparable to Expedia, Shopify, Instacart, Kayak, and Zapier entered the service. Since then, greater than 70 corporations have entered the service. The variety of plug-in vendors is anticipated to extend in the long run.

ChatGPT’s base language model, GPT-4, only reflected data until September 2021, but using web browsing and plug-ins can utilize even the most recent data, making up for the weakness of ChatGPT, which is vulnerable to the most recent data, and minimizing hallucinations. .

Nevertheless, however, there are concerns that it could possibly cause security problems related to sensitive data as a result of real-time search, and that chatGPT dominates web browsing and reduces web traffic, which may destroy the net service ecosystem.

OpenAI said it can release the brand new feature to all ChatGPT users once the beta test for the brand new feature is over and evaluated to fulfill OpenAI’s quality standards. Nevertheless, it didn’t disclose when it can be released to all ChatGPT users.

Reporter Park Chan cpark@aitimes.com