OpenAI disables Browse with Bing feature in ChatGPT due to misuse and unintended consequences

OpenAI has recently announced that it has disabled the "Browse with Microsoft Bing" web-browsing feature in ChatGPT due to misuse and unintended consequences. This feature was announced just over a month ago, and its availability on iOS was introduced just last week, providing ChatGPT Plus subscribers with timely and up-to-date answers by accessing information directly from the web using Microsoft's search engine.

The company stated that the browse feature was inadvertently displaying content to users that was not intended. OpenAI clarified that when users requested the full text of a URL, ChatGPT would provide that information, prompting them to take action in order to address concerns and uphold the rights of content owners. This issue directly violates the privacy of content owners, leading to conflicts between OpenAI and various companies, including recent allegations from X CEO Elon Musk regarding unauthorized data scraping by AI companies (interesting timing for OpenAI's decision, coming just a few days after Twitter implemented Rate Limits).

ChatGPT Plus subscribers still have access to additional features such as GPT-4 and the GPT-4 Plugin Store, which was officially released to the public on May 22. The company has not provided a specific timeline for when Browse with Bing will be reactivated, but in the meantime, let's remember that Microsoft's chatbot, Microsoft Copilot, is one of the most popular alternatives to ChatGPT and has had web browsing support for all users for quite some time.