{"versionId":"65f8b55f-6134-4267-0e37-08de7e547d9e","articleId":"c70ebe37-7cd5-441c-0f91-08dd99935fd0","title":"Web search","tags":["Working with web content","All articles"],"content":"

Assistants have their own knowledge, with cut-off dates dependent on the model used. For example, if your assistant uses gpt-5 mini, the knowledge cutoff is 31 May 2024.

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If you need more recent knowledge to complete your task, your assistant can use a web search tool to help.

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In this article...

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How is web search triggered?

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Web search is one of your assistant's available tools. If you ask for something that requires recent or in-depth knowledge, or for the \"latest news\" on a topic, for example, it's likely that your assistant will use web search.

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How does web search work?

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When using web search, your assistant will search the web for relevant content to formulate its response to your input, instead of using its internal knowledge.

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You'll see progress messages along the way, for example:

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Reference links are either displayed inline in the assistant's response, or below the response (indicated with an \"i\" icon). You can click on the \"i\" to see the reference web pages.

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Are there any limitations on sources for web search?

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Theta Assist can access and retrieve information from a wide range of online resources via web search, including:

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  1. Major news outlets: Websites like BBC News, The New York Times, The Guardian, ABC News, etc.
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  2. Government and educational websites: Official sites ending in .gov or .edu.
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  3. Publicly accessible content: Any website that provides open access content without the need for user accounts or subscriptions.
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  4. General web content: Blogs, forums, and other online publications that are accessible through typical web search.
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Limitations:

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  1. Subscription-based content: Sites that require a subscription or login (e.g., certain sections of The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times beyond article limits) are inaccessible for deep content.
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  2. Real-time social media platforms: Direct access to live posts or data from platforms like Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook isn't possible, but trends or aggregated insights might be available from secondary sources.
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  3. Private databases: Any content behind paywalls or restricted databases, like certain academic journals or proprietary databases, can't be accessed.
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Theta Assist relies on publicly available and open access information to generate responses, maintaining accuracy and relevance without violating access restrictions.

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Can web search be disabled?

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Web search can be disabled at an assistant level. You may want to do this if, for example, your assistant should only use it's assistant files to answer questions and formulate responses.

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How to disable web search on an assistant

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To disable web search on an assistant you need both

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When editing the assistant:

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