Claude Ai now surfs the Internet (also in Italy): our proof

A few months after the entry of the new Claude 3.7 Sonnet model, the 'first hybrid reasoning model on the market', comes the availability of 'Web Search' for all paying users (excluding the free plan) globally, including Italy (after being launched in the US). In this way, Anthropic's generative chatbot can probe the web for information of various kinds. We put Ai to the test by writing on the prompt to give us specific information on a Milan-Palermo flight and to point us to car rental companies 'with good reviews, best value for money and a not-too-high credit card deposit'.

Punctually, Ai gave us a wide range of options, justifying the choice with reviews in various specialised portals, clarifying whether the rental is at the airport or outside but with a shuttle and the various insurance coverage options, even without the use of a credit card. A result that allowed us to make a quick comparison of the various carriers and indicated the link to the pages directly. A nice time saver.

Note that Claude's approach to web search differs from that of other advanced language models such as ChatGPT. While the latter offers the possibility of explicitly activating online search through a special command, Claude operates more autonomously, intervening when it deems it necessary in order to provide a more complete and contextualised response related to the user's query. That is, unless the user provides a specific web address, in which case Claude will directly access the content of that page (fetching) by probing its contents.

The web reaserch functionality is not the only one to have been implemented recently within the Anthropic chatbot experience. At the beginning of May, the Integrations functionality was also introduced, designed to connect Claude to external tools and apps, enabling him to better understand the work context. Thanks to this new function, Claude can now access information about ongoing projects, assigned tasks and company documentation, enabling him to provide more relevant and targeted answers and support. But the potential of Integrations is not limited to just consulting data: Claude is now able to act directly within these external platforms, automating processes such as creating tasks on Jira or accessing customised reports.

In parallel, Anthropic significantly enhanced the Research function, conducting complex searches that can extend up to 45 minutes per session, drawing on a wider range of information sources. This brings Claude closer to the advanced reasoning functionalities already available in Gemini and ChatGPT.