ChatGPT for iOS now offers a connection to Bing for a user experience that incorporates more up-to-date information.
There is a caveat, however, as only paid subscribers to the app’s premium Plus tier are able to take advantage of the new feature.
It means that the AI-powered ChatGPT app will now be able to pull up more recent information instead of only using older web-based data that it’s been trained on, which reaches as far as 2021.
“Plus users can now use ‘Browsing’ to get comprehensive answers and current insights on events and information that extend beyond the model’s original training data,” OpenAI said in notes for the latest version of ChatGPT for iPhone, released on Tuesday.
Users of the paid Plus tier can try it out by enabling Browsing in the “New Features” section of the app’s settings. Next, select GPT-4 in the model switcher and choose “Browse with Bing” in the drop-down.
While it’s a disappointment that the update allows engagement only with Bing and not other search engines, it’s no surprise that it’s this particular search tool that ChatGPT has incorporated. That’s because Bing is made by Microsoft, the company that earlier this year announced a major investment in OpenAI. The funding, which follows two other similar rounds of support by Microsoft in 2019 and 2021, was reportedly worth as much as $10 billion. ChatGPT is also already a part of Bing search for web and is integrated into Microsoft’s Edge browser.
OpenAI released the free ChatGPT app for iPhone last month. ChatGPT Plus costs $20 per month with benefits including smooth access to ChatGPT during peak times, faster response times, and priority access to new features and improvements.
Only just heard about the ChatGPT chatbot? It’s not too late to start learning about it, as it won’t be going away anytime soon. Digital Trends has a useful article explaining what it’s all about, and how you can try it out for yourself.
You might also want to try Google’s AI-powered chatbot, called Bard. But first, find out how it shapes up against ChatGPT.
