Using web search

Some questions need information that’s newer than the model’s training, or that lives out on the public web — a product release this week, a current price, a recent news item. Turn on Web Search and Chat will look things up for you as it answers, then cite the pages it used so you can check the source. This page shows you how to enable web search, how it works alongside your own Knowledge, and how it stays governed and safe.

Before you start

You’re in a conversation (a new chat, a folder, a channel, or a direct message).
You want an answer that depends on current or public information.
Your organization allows web search — it’s available on most plans, but your admin can turn it off. If you don’t see the option, check with your admin.

Turn web search on

There are three ways to switch web search on, and they all do the same thing. Pick whichever is closest to hand.

The Web pill. In the composer (the message box at the bottom), select the Web toggle. When it’s lit, web search is on for this conversation.
The + menu. Select the + button in the composer and choose Web Search.
A command. Type /web-search on and send — or /web-search off to turn it back off.

Once it’s on, it stays on for that conversation until you turn it off, so you don’t have to re-enable it for every message. Each conversation remembers its own setting independently — turning search on in one chat doesn’t change another.

Tip — you don’t always have to decide first. If you ask something and Chat answers without searching, it will often offer a Search the web button right under the reply. Select it to re-run the same question with search turned on — no need to retype anything.

How web search blends with your Knowledge

Web search and Knowledge aren’t either/or — Chat uses both, and tells you which is which.

Your Knowledge comes first. If your conversation, folder, or assistant has Knowledge collections attached, Chat draws on those trusted, internal sources as the foundation of its answer.
Web search fills the gaps. When the question reaches beyond what your Knowledge contains — or asks for something current — web results add fresh external context on top.
Every source is cited and labelled. Answers carry numbered [1]-style citations. Select one to see a card with the title, a snippet, and a link. Web sources link out to the page; Knowledge sources point back to your document, so you can always tell where a fact came from.

This means you can keep your own documents as the authority and let the web supply what they don’t cover — without losing track of which is which.

Tip — be explicit when it matters. If you specifically want the latest public information, say so: “Search the web for the current pricing” or “What’s the latest on…?” If you’d rather stay on internal sources only, leave web search off and lean on your Knowledge.

A worked example

Say you’re preparing a briefing and need a recent industry figure your internal documents don’t have.

Open a chat and turn on the Web pill.
Ask: “What’s the latest reported figure for global enterprise AI spending this year, and roughly how does it compare to last year?”
Chat searches the web, then answers with the figures and numbered citations.
Select a citation to open the source card and confirm the page it came from before you trust the number.
Follow up naturally: “Now summarize that against the priorities in our strategy deck.” If that deck is in your Knowledge, Chat blends the web figure with your internal document — and cites both.

Governed by design

Web search is a deliberate, supervised step, not a free-for-all — so you can use external context with confidence.

It’s an opt-in action. Chat only reaches out to the web when web search is on. Nothing leaves your conversation to the open web unless you’ve enabled it.
What comes back is reviewed. Retrieved web content passes through the same safety and trust review as everything else before it shapes your answer, so external pages can’t smuggle in content that violates your organization’s policies.
It stays inside your organization’s rules. Web search honors the policies your admin sets, and only public web pages are reachable — private or internal network addresses are never fetched.
Everything is on the record. When web search is used, it’s part of the conversation’s trace, and the sources are cited in the reply.

You don’t need to manage any of this — it happens automatically. For the bigger picture on how Chat keeps your work protected, see Safe at work.

Troubleshooting

What you see	What it means	What to do
No Web pill or Web Search option	Web search may be turned off for your organization	Ask your admin whether it’s enabled on your plan
The answer didn’t search the web	Web search was off, or the question didn’t need it	Turn on the Web pill (or select the Search the web button under the reply) and ask again
Citations only point to your documents	Chat answered fully from your Knowledge	That’s expected — it searches the web only when needed; ask explicitly for “the latest from the web” to force it
A specific page wasn’t used	It may be a private/internal address, or unreachable	Web search reaches public pages only; paste the content into the chat, or add it to Knowledge
Results look out of date	Search brought back older pages	Ask for “the most recent” or add a year/date to your question to steer it

Choosing an assistant — assistants can come pre-set with Knowledge and the right defaults for your task
Upload a file to work with — ground answers in your own documents instead of, or alongside, the web
The surfaces — how Knowledge, sources, and citations fit together
Safe at work — how Chat keeps your conversations and external lookups governed