Anthropic has introduced web search capabilities for its Claude AI chatbot, allowing it to retrieve real-time information from the internet.
The feature is currently in preview and is limited to Claude Pro and Claude Team users in the United States. Unlike AI models that generate responses without linking to sources, Claude provides citations for its web search results.
The new feature enters a challenging market with competitors such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT Search, Google’s AI Overviews, Perplexity AI and Microsoft’s Bing AI powered search.
Anthropic’s web search is available only for Claude 3.7 Sonnet, excluding other Claude models, including Claude Instant. Users must manually enable the feature in their settings before using it. Claude then determines when to retrieve live data, balancing AI-generated insights with verifiable information.
How Claude’s Web Search Prioritizes Transparency
Unlike traditional AI assistants that rely solely on pre-trained knowledge, Claude can now search across news sources, academic databases, and social media to provide up-to-date responses. Notably, it cites normal web sources as well as posts from X (formerly Twitter).
Anthropic describes the feature as a way to enhance the reliability of AI-generated content, ensuring that users can verify information directly.
Claude’s web search does not always activate when users expect it to, suggesting that the system is still refining how and when to fetch live data.
“When Claude incorporates information from the web into its responses, it provides direct citations so you can easily fact check sources. Instead of finding search results yourself, Claude processes and delivers relevant sources in a conversational format,” Anthropic states in its official announcement.
This emphasis on transparency is intended to address concerns about AI misinformation and unverifiable responses.
How Claude Compares to AI Search Rivals
Claude’s web search enters a competitive field where AI-driven search assistants are rapidly evolving. OpenAI launched ChatGPT Search in October 2024, initially restricting access to paid users before making it available for free in February 2025.
OpenAI’s approach integrates AI-generated responses with live web data, embedding links within chat-based answers.
Google’s AI Overviews, which expanded to over 1 billion users during 2024, initially prioritized AI-generated summaries but faced criticism from publishers due to reduced search traffic. Google has temporarily scaled back AI Overviews in response to industry concerns, but is currently increasing its use and preparing a purely AI based search feature called AI Mode.
Meanwhile, Microsoft has been redesigning Bing Search to prioritize AI-generated responses.
Unlike Claude, which presents sourced information in a traditional manner, Bing like Google places AI-generated summaries above traditional search results, pushing organic links to a sidebar. Microsoft and Google have claimed that this maintains traffic to publishers, though industry experts remain skeptical.
AI Search: A Shifting Landscape
Beyond the major players, alternative AI search models are gaining traction. Perplexity AI has positioned itself as a research-focused alternative, and is preparing an own web browser called “Comet”, which could become a serious competitor to Google Chrome.
Meta is also developing an AI-powered search engine for WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook, aiming to reduce its reliance on traditional search engines.
Claude’s emphasis on direct citations and a non-intrusive AI search approach sets it apart from Google and Bing’s AI-driven models, which integrate AI into the core search experience.
However, Anthropic’s decision to restrict web search to U.S.-based paid users could slow adoption, especially as OpenAI and Microsoft continue to push AI-powered search tools to broader audiences.
While Anthropic has confirmed that Claude’s web search will be expanded, no specific timeline has been provided. As AI search competition intensifies, Claude’s ability to balance AI-generated reasoning with factual accuracy will determine whether it can carve out a niche among its larger competitors.
Last Updated on March 28, 2025 6:22 pm CET
