ChatGPT Gives Bing Search Feature A Break: What Went Wrong?

OpenAI has temporarily disabled chatGPT’s “Browse with Bing” feature due to concerns over potential misuse, highlighting the challenges in ensuring the responsible and ethical use of advanced AI systems.

What Happened: In a move to safeguard against potential abuse of its AI model, OpenAI has made the decision to temporarily suspend the “Browse with Bing” feature in chatGPT, a widely acclaimed conversational AI renowned for its human-like dialogue abilities.

This particular feature allowed ChatGPT Plus subscribers to leverage the power of the internet by accessing real-time information through Microsoft Corporation's MSFT Bing search, enabling more dynamic and up-to-date responses. 

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However, concerns began arising over the potential exploitation of this feature, particularly in bypassing paywalls for premium content.

Very grateful to the ChatGPT Plus subscribers who have been helping us test the browsing feature. This is why we started with a beta—have received extremely valuable feedback, learned a lot, & will bring it back soon.

— OpenAI (@OpenAI) July 4, 2023

For the unversed, while chatGPT lacks inherent web browsing capabilities, the integration of the Bing browsing feature unintentionally granted users the ability to request full text from specific URLs, potentially including paid content. 

In a blog post on Tuesday, OpenAI stated that chatGPT Browse with Bing is a beta feature that essentially allows ChatGPT to search the internet and answer questions. However, the same feature can occasionally display content in "ways we don’t want.”

OpenAI has disabled the Browse with Bing beta feature effective immediately as a precautionary measure. The company expressed its intention to reinstate the feature promptly, after resolving the potential loophole.

Why It's Important: In May this year, OpenAI enabled ChatGPT Plus users to access Microsoft Bing as the default search engine on the company's AI chatbot through a plug-in. 

Last week, the Sam Altman-led company granted Apple Inc. AAPL users who are using ChatGPT Plus on their iPhones unparalleled access to real-time web information via Browse with Bing feature. 

Now, it appears that the heightened focus on AI governance and ethical use of this technology has prompted the company to reconsider the expansion. 

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