OpenAI significantly enhances ChatGPT’s capabilities by introducing plugin compatibility, giving it true web access for the first time.
On Thursday, March 23, 2023, the company launched a plugin waiting list and began granting access to “a small group of users”.
ChatGPT previously only had access to its training data, which only goes back to 2021. According to OpenAI, plugins will enable it to navigate the web and interact with certain websites.
It contained a list of 11 external site plugins that were initially available to users, including:
ExpediaTaxNoteInstacartOpenTableShopifySlackZapier
OpenAI is also developing its own plugins, including one for code deciphering and another called “Browsing”, which allows ChatGPT to pull information from the Internet.
The company demonstrated the browser plug-in in action by asking how the box office sales of this year’s Oscar winners compare to recently released films.
The language model breaks down what it does, such as searching, visiting certain links, and reading the material before responding.
While other language models, such as Microsoft’s GPT-powered Bing Search, can browse the web, ChatGPT performs better by connecting to APIs and “performing actions on behalf of the user”.
OpenAI president and co-founder Greg Brockman presented an example of how one can use ChatGPT to research recipes and buy needed goods on InstaCart.
“We’ve added initial support for ChatGPT plugins – a protocol for developers to build tools for ChatGPT, with security as a central design principle,” says Brokman.
“Deploy iteratively (starting with a small number of users & developers) to learn from contact with reality.”
