AI bot Anthropic Claude learns to search for information on the Internet, catching up with ChatGPT and other competitors

Anthropic’s AI-powered chatbot Claude has acquired a web search feature. The new feature is available in a preview version only for paid Claude users in the US. In the future, the company plans to expand the geography of this feature, as well as make web search available to free users of the chatbot.

Image source: Anthropic

Anthropic explains that users can enable web search in their profile settings via the Claude web app. The chatbot automatically searches the web to answer specific queries. Web search currently only works with Anthropic’s latest AI model, Claude 3.7 Sonnet.

«When Claude includes information from the web in its answers, it provides direct citations so users can easily verify sources. Instead of simply returning search results, Claude analyzes and presents the information in a format that is easy to understand. This update expands its knowledge base, allowing it to provide answers based on more relevant information,” Anthropic said in a statement.

TechCrunch tested Claude’s web search feature. They noted that the chatbot didn’t always use it to find current events. However, when web search did work, Claude did provide answers with embedded quotes from a variety of sources, including social media (like X) and media outlets like NPR and Reuters.

The addition of web search puts Claude in line with competing AI-powered chatbots, including OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini, and Mistral’s Le Chat. Anthropic had previously opposed integrating web search, arguing that Claude was designed as a standalone platform. However, increased competition from other chatbots appears to have prompted the company to change its mind.