Claude is getting a new web search capability that helps it provide more current answers.
When the AI assistant finds information online, it shows users exactly where the data came from and turns search results into conversational responses instead of just listing links like a traditional search engine. Similar features already exist in tools like Perplexity, ChatGPT's search function, and Google Gemini.
For now, the web search feature is limited to paying Claude users in the United States who opt into the feature preview. The feature works with Claude 3.7 Sonnet, suggesting Anthropic chose a reasoning model for better accuracy. The company says it plans to roll out the capability to other countries and free accounts later.
Video: Anthropic
Chatbots start to look more alike
The lines between major AI assistants are getting blurrier. Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, Grok, Deepseek, and Mistral now offer remarkably similar features at similar prices. When one platform adds something new - whether it's web search, deep research tools, visual editing with canvas, or code generation with a preview window - the others typically follow within weeks.
These days, the real differences come down to how well their AI models perform and how easy they are to prompt. But even these distinctions mainly matter to experts and developers. Some platforms might have an edge by letting users pick different AI models for different tasks, matching each job with the best tool for the work.
The shift to chatbot-based searching brings its own problems. Besides concerns about accuracy, there's a bigger issue for website owners: when people get their information through chatbots, they're much less likely to visit actual websites. Traffic can drop by as much as 96 percent compared to traditional search engines. For sites that depend on visitors for income, this could be a serious problem.
Unlike most competitors, Anthropic hasn't made any deals with media companies to license their current articles when using them as sources for its chatbot's answers.
