This illustration picture shows the AI (Artificial Intelligence) smartphone app ChatGPT surrounded by other AI App in Vaasa, on June 6, 2023. (PHOTO / AFP)

ChatGPT users will now be able to surf the web, Microsoft-backed OpenAI said on Wednesday, expanding the data the viral chatbot can access beyond its earlier September 2021 cutoff.

The artificial intelligence startup said its latest browsing feature would allow websites to control how ChatGPT can interact with them.

ChatGPT became the fastest-growing consumer application in history earlier this year, reaching 100 million monthly active users in January

"Browsing is available to Plus and Enterprise users today, and we'll expand to all users soon. To enable, choose Browse with Bing in the selector under GPT-4," OpenAI said in a post on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

READ MORE: ChatGPT: Smart chatbot or rogue machine power?

The startup also announced a major update earlier this week that would enable ChatGPT to have voice conversations with users and interact with them using images, moving it closer to popular AI assistants like Apple's Siri.

OpenAI had earlier tested a feature that allowed users to access the latest information through the Bing search engine within its premium ChatGPT Plus offering. But it later disabled it because of fears that it could allow users to bypass paywalls.

ChatGPT became the fastest-growing consumer application in history earlier this year, reaching 100 million monthly active users in January, before being supplanted by Meta's Threads app.

READ MORE: ChatGPT's explosive growth shows first decline in traffic

Its rise has driven up investor interest in OpenAI, with media including Reuters reporting on Tuesday that the startup is talking to shareholders about a possible sale of existing shares at a much higher valuation than a few months ago.