OpenAI is shutting down a plug-in for the Bing web browser

Essence

• Bing plugin no longer works. The beta version of the "Browse with Bing" plugin for ChatGPT-4 was disabled on July 3 due to concerns that it was displaying content inappropriately.
• The Internet meets artificial intelligence. This change has generated significant attention as ChatGPT, the fastest growing application of all time, takes advantage of Internet sources to create well-documented, reliable content.
• Bing will be returned. Despite the current problem, OpenAI is committed to improving this feature and will bring it back soon.

The creators of ChatGPT disabled a browser plugin that connects user queries to Microsoft's Bing search engine on July 3 because it displays content "in a way we don't want."

ChatGPT users over the Fourth of July holiday weekend who were expecting to use the beta version of the "Browse with Bing" plugin were probably surprised when the plugin for ChatGPT-4, the paid version of the chatbot, disappeared from the familiar drop-down menu. A pop-up on the bottom right of the ChatGPT-4 home screen read: "We have temporarily disabled Browse with Bing Beta" and provided a link to a Help Center article that offered an explanation.

"ChatGPT Browse with Bing is a beta feature (available to ChatGPT Plus subscribers) that allows ChatGPT to search the web to help answer questions that use recent information," wrote OpenAI's Michael Shade in a Help Center article. "We've learned that the beta version of ChatGPT Browse can sometimes display content in ways we don't want it to. For example, if a user specifically requests the full text of a URL, they may accidentally fulfill that request. On July 3, 2023, we disabled the beta version of the Browse with Bing feature out of an abundance of caution until we fix this issue to do right by content owners. We are working to bring back the beta version as soon as possible, and thank you for your understanding!"

Connecting ChatGPT to the Internet

Normally, a disabled plugin doesn't make headlines. But not in the case of ChatGPT, the fastest growing app of all time. And certainly not in the case of the Bing browser plugin.

You see how much these revolutionary AI-based generative chatbots can change the customer experience and marketing game, but the content they produce without the backing of a legitimate online source is just untested, unpredictable garbage in the eyes of many.

Sure, ChatGPT can pass an exam, write a term paper, and do just about anything, like organize a rap battle between peanut butter and jelly in seconds. But in May, when ChatGPT introduced its Bing-powered web-browsing plug-in, it became a marriage of the Internet and artificial intelligence. Or, more specifically, where chatbot meets search, the latter being the method on which Google has built its empire, while the former works more impressively on large language models.

In short, search and chatbots are an extremely powerful combination for finding answers - answers that are well documented and sourced. So, yes, when they fail, it's big news.

What's in store for the Bing Web Browser on ChatGPT?

What's next for the ChatGPT web browser plugin? We don't know for sure and will keep an eye on OpenAI's reports on the plugin.

Customer service and marketing professionals should remember that this is an experimental model hosted by OpenAI itself, connecting ChatGPT to the wonderful world of the Web via the Bing search API. This means that its future, even without considering the shutdown over the Fourth of July weekend, is uncertain. Such is the nature of beta applications.

In May, OpenAI planned to gradually connect existing plugins developed by its first partners to ChatGPT, starting with ChatGPT Plus subscribers.

"Over the coming months, as we gain deployment experience and continue to improve security, we will iterate on this protocol and plan to enable developers using OpenAI models to integrate plugins into their applications beyond ChatGPT," OpenAI representatives wrote back in May.

OpenAI added in a July 3 tweet, "Very grateful to the ChatGPT Plus subscribers who helped us test the preview feature. That's why we started with the beta - we got very valuable feedback, learned a lot and will be bringing it back soon."