Since its release nearly a year ago in November 2022, startup OpenAI has continuously improved its popular AI chatbot, ChatGPT. However, the latest update takes all previous features and combines them into one seamless experience, according to users who have already experienced the update.
Multiple users have shared an update message they received, which states:
“Your GPT-4 has been updated. Upload many types of documents: Work with PDFs, data files, or any document you want to analyze. Just upload and start asking questions. Use Tools without switching: Access to Browsing, Advanced Data Analysis, and DALL-E is now automatic. (If preferred, manual selection is still available under GPT-4.)”
Previously, these capabilities were introduced one by one over the last few months, and users had to toggle them on independently. This meant that users could only use one capability at a time, requiring them to switch between sessions.
Now, with OpenAI’s latest update, all of these tasks can be performed in a single chat session, greatly improving the efficiency of the service. Users have dubbed this update and mode as “All Tools.”
Connor Grennan, Dean of Students at NYU Stern School of Business, expressed his excitement about the update, comparing it to the 1980s cartoon Voltron, where large mechanical lions combine to form a single warrior. Grennan wrote on LinkedIn:
“BREAKING: ChatGPT4 just combined its insane tools into a single chat, Voltron-style! Work w/ PDFs, data, DALLE, vision, browse- seamlessly. Your powers just leveled up.”
Alex Ker, founder of p-AI incubator, emphasized the impact of the update on startups, stating, “Many startups just died today because OpenAI added PDF chat. You can also chat with data files and other document types.” Ker further explained that several products were better suited as features rather than stand-alone companies, and now the market is becoming more challenging with OpenAI’s advancements.
Jim Fan, a senior AI scientist at Nvidia, echoed Ker’s sentiments, cautioning against startups that could easily be replaced by OpenAI and other established companies. Fan wrote, “Before your adrenaline rush for a shiny startup idea, ask yourself this: Can OpenAI/Anthropic/Microsoft add this feature with 3 engineers in a hackathon?”
The concern stems from the number of companies that have emerged since OpenAI enabled API access to its GPT-3.5 and GPT-4 large language models (LLMs), which power ChatGPT. These companies, referred to as “wrappers,” built their own apps and offerings using OpenAI’s technology.
Prior to this update, ChatGPT had a third-party plugin library with various capabilities, including PDF and document analysis tools. However, the user experience was often cumbersome, requiring users to upload documents to a separate website and paste the URL into ChatGPT.
The new update renders these plugins obsolete, as users can now perform all tasks within a single chat session. Additionally, the combination of ChatGPT’s image generation with natural language instructions rivals Adobe Photoshop in certain tasks.
While the bundling of ChatGPT’s capabilities enhances efficiency and user experience, some have raised concerns about security. Simon Willison, co-creator of Django Python web framework, expressed surprise at the availability of browsing and code interpreter in the same session, raising concerns about potential prompt injection attacks.
Willison’s argument revolves around the fact that if malicious instructions can be hidden in webpages accessed through browsing mode, attackers could exploit ChatGPT’s code generation capabilities to manipulate the sandboxed Python environment and potentially execute harmful actions. These security concerns point to the need for thorough testing and safeguards.
Although OpenAI has not made an official announcement about this bundled version of ChatGPT, users have already embraced the new update. OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman, CTO Mira Murati, and developer relations advocate Logan Kilpatrick have yet to provide further details about the update, but we will continue to monitor for any updates.
