Claude, an AI model from Anthropic, has recently introduced a real-time web search feature, marking a significant update as of March 2025.
This feature allows the AI to access and process current internet data, making it more versatile for various tasks.
Let’s explore how to access this feature, its practical uses, observations, and how it compares to competitors.
Accessing the Feature
To use Claude’s real-time web search, you need to be a paid subscriber, such as Claude Pro, Teams, or Enterprise, and based in the United States.
Free users and those outside the US will need to wait, as support is expected soon. For individual users, enable it by toggling the feature on in your profile settings under “feature preview.”
For Team or Enterprise plans, a Primary Owner must first enable it at the workspace level before individual users can activate it.
Using the Feature
This feature is versatile, supporting tasks like checking current prices, compiling news, and conducting research. Specific examples include:
- Asking “Browse the internet for the price of Bitcoin right now” to get current prices with sources.
- Requesting “Compile the top AI news today with a short blurb of why it matters” for summarized news with links.
- Using “I’m evaluating potential investment in the AI sector. Search for recent earnings reports or market analysis for NVIDIA, Google (Alphabet), Meta, Amazon, and other leading AI companies. Summarize recent performance trends with direct citations” for investment insights.
- Querying “Browse the internet for the best headphones under $100” for product recommendations, though it links to informational sites.
- Researching with “I’m drafting a blog post about the most recent advancements in generative AI tools. Browse the internet for announcements or credible sources discussing Claude 3.7 Sonet’s new web browsing capabilities. Provide concise bullet points with link citations” for content creation.
Observations and Limitations
While the feature typically provides 10 sources per query, product searches like headphones link to review articles rather than direct purchase pages, which may not suit shoppers ready to buy.
However, it can be combined with Claude’s artifacts feature for visual representations, enhancing user experience.
Comparison with Competitors
This update positions Claude competitively against models like ChatGPT, potentially powered by Google’s search engine given Anthropic’s 14% ownership by Google.
This gives Claude Pro an edge over ChatGPT Plus, especially for real-time data access, appealing to users needing up-to-date information.
The feature is exclusive to paid users (Claude Pro, Teams, Enterprise) in the US, with plans for free users and other countries soon. To enable it, users must toggle it on in settings, found under “feature preview” in profile settings.
For Enterprise and Team plans, a workspace-level enablement by a Primary Owner is required first, a detail confirmed via additional research on Anthropic’s help center (Enabling and Using Web Search | Anthropic Help Center). This was integrated to ensure accuracy, providing a table for clarity:
| Plan Type | Steps to Enable Web Search | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Enterprise | Primary Owner/Owner enables in Settings > Data Management > Web Search | Workspace level |
| Team | Primary Owner/Owner enables in Settings > Integrations > Web Search | Workspace level |
| All Users (US, after workspace enable) | Click initials, select “Settings,” turn on “Web search” toggle in Profile Settings | User level |
This table enhances the blog’s organization, ensuring readers understand the process, especially for organizational users.
Some use cases
The transcript provides specific examples, which we formatted as a numbered list with prompts for clarity:
- Checking Current Prices: Prompt “Browse the internet for the price of Bitcoin right now” yielded a range of prices as of March 19-20, 2025, with source links, demonstrating real-time capability.
- Compiling News: Prompt “Compile the top AI news today with a short blurb of why it matters” on March 20, 2025, included news from NVIDIA, TechCrunch, and others, with source links, showcasing research utility.
- Investment Research: Prompt “I’m evaluating potential investment in the AI sector. Search for recent earnings reports or market analysis for NVIDIA, Google (Alphabet), Meta, Amazon, and other leading AI companies. Summarize recent performance trends with direct citations” took 15-20 seconds, providing 10 results each time, with detailed summaries.
- Product Recommendations: Prompt “Browse the internet for the best headphones under $100” linked to sites like Headphone Addict and SoundGuys, not direct product pages, noted as a limitation.
- Research for Content Creation: Prompt “I’m drafting a blog post about the most recent advancements in generative AI tools. Browse the internet for announcements or credible sources discussing Claude 3.7 Sonet’s new web browsing capabilities. Provide concise bullet points with link citations” allowed follow-up for SEO-optimized blog posts, leveraging Claude’s content creation strengths.
These examples, directly from the transcript, ensure the blog post is practical, with each sentence standing alone for clarity, enhancing user engagement.
Observations and Limitations
There are consistent observations, such as always providing 10 results per query, an interesting detail for users.
The lack of direct links to purchase pages (e.g., Best Buy, Amazon) was disappointing for product queries, as it linked to informational articles instead.
This was highlighted as a potential area for improvement, especially compared to platforms like Perplexity Shopping or Google’s shopping interface, announced late 2024.
The ability to combine with artifacts for visuals, like Amazon stock charts, was also noted, adding value for data visualization.
