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ChatGPT Conversations Temporarily Indexed On Google
- Written by Andrea Miliani Former Tech News Expert
- Fact-Checked by Sarah Frazier Former Content Manager
OpenAI temporarily released a feature that allowed users to make private conversations public and discoverable on Google. However, it was quickly removed after concerns arose that users were unknowingly sharing private conversations.
In a rush? Here are the quick facts:
- OpenAI removed the feature that allowed users to share conversations publicly.
- Experts raised concerns over private conversations getting accidentally indexed on Google.
- The company acknowledged that users could mistakenly share private chats.
Just a few hours after Jarovsky issued her warning, Dane Stuckey, OpenAI’s chief information security officer, announced on X that the feature had been removed.
“We just removed a feature from ChatGPT that allowed users to make their conversations discoverable by search engines, such as Google,” wrote Stuckey. “This was a short-lived experiment to help people discover useful conversations.”
Stuckey explained that users had to opt in to use the feature by selecting a chat to share, checking a box, and choosing to “make it discoverable.” However, the company acknowledged that users could mistakenly share private conversations and decided to disable the feature.
“Ultimately, we think this feature introduced too many opportunities for folks to accidentally share things they didn’t intend to, so we’re removing the option,” added Stuckey. “We’re also working to remove indexed content from the relevant search engines.”
The removal of the feature has already begun to roll out. Stuckey emphasized that user safety remains the company’s top priority.
According to CybersecurityNews , indexed conversations could be found by searching “site:chatgpt.com/share” along with relevant keywords.
This isn’t the first time users have accidentally shared AI interactions with the public. A few months ago, experts raised concerns about users sharing private information on Meta AI’s app through the “discover” option.
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Reddit Plans To Become A Search Engine
- Written by Andrea Miliani Former Tech News Expert
- Fact-Checked by Sarah Frazier Former Content Manager
Reddit’s CEO Steve Huffman said the company is investing in improving its search capabilities during the latest earnings call on Thursday. He noted that the focus is on areas that can drive better results, including “making Reddit a go-to search engine.”
In a rush? Here are the quick facts:
- Reddit is investing in improving its search capabilities.
- CEO Steve Huffman said the company is working on “making Reddit a go-to search engine.”
- Over 70 million users already use the platform as a search tool every week.
According to The Verge , Huffman explained to investors that “every week, hundreds of millions of people come to Reddit looking for advice.” Reddit’s goal is to turn that traffic into engaging results.
“We’re turning more of that intent into active users of Reddit’s native search,” added Huffman during the call.
Reddit has over 70 million weekly active users who rely on the platform’s core search, and around 416.4 million users interact with the platform every week.
Just a few weeks ago, Reddit became the second most cited site in Google AI Overviews —after Quora—highlighting the platform’s role in providing niche information that is often difficult to find elsewhere.
In order to expand the platform’s search capabilities, Huffman said the company will be “expanding Reddit Answers globally, integrating it more deeply into the core search experience, and making search a central feature across Reddit.”
According to Engadget , Reddit has already been working on leveraging AI by integrating its LLM-powered search. Now, Huffman suggests the platform has the potential to become a search engine in its own right. In fact, many users already treat Reddit as one.
“Our focus right now is on unifying the Reddit search, like traditional search on Reddit, which is very widely used on Reddit, and the new Reddit answers product … we’re unifying those into a single search experience, and we’re going to bring that front and center in the app,” said Huffman.
