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Does ChatGPT have up-to-date information?
Short answer
It can. ChatGPT, including the free plan, can search the web for up-to-date information and show you the sources. Without a search, it answers from what it learned in training, which stops at a cut-off date and can be out of date. For UK tax rates, minimum wage or prices, check the linked source or GOV.UK.
How to tell which you're getting
- Search answers show links or citations to the pages ChatGPT used. Open them.
- Answers with no sources come from the model's training. They may be months out of date, or simply wrong.
- You can ask directly: "Search the web and give me sources for this."
When to be careful
| Topic | Why | Check here |
|---|---|---|
| Tax rates and thresholds | Change every April, sometimes mid-year | GOV.UK |
| Minimum wage and statutory pay | Change every April | GOV.UK or our calculators |
| AI tool prices | Change often | The provider's pricing page |
| Law and regulation | AI often mixes up UK and US law | Legislation.gov.uk, the regulator |
Even with search, ChatGPT can misread a page or mix sources. It's a starting point; see what is an AI hallucination?
Related questions
Does ChatGPT Plus have access to the internet?
Yes. Search is available on every plan, including Free. Plus gives you higher limits on tools such as deep research.
Does ChatGPT know today's date and news?
It can find current news with search. Without search, it doesn't know what's happened since its training cut-off.
Is Perplexity better for current information?
Perplexity is built around cited search, so it always shows sources. See is Perplexity private? before using it for work.
Sources
- OpenAI Help: ChatGPT free tier FAQ (web search)
- OpenAI: ChatGPT pricing
- NCSC: AI and cyber security (hallucination)
Checked 17 October 2026. Rules and prices change, so check the source before you rely on it. This is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice.
More on getting started with ai
- Are AI chatbots dangerous?
- Can AI analyse a video?
- Can AI compare two documents?
- Can AI help me write a book?
- Can AI proofread a document?
- Can ChatGPT be used for business?
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