ChatGPT users everywhere, be aware: Bing Search is indexing your public conversations in its search results
Microsoft and OpenAI could face legal consequences.
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If you’re using ChatGPT for various tasks, Bing Search might be indexing your public conversations with the AI tool in its search results. Spotted by SEO enthusiast, Shameem Adhikarath, on X (formerly known as Twitter), Bing Search is showing several public ChatGPT conversations in results when searching for ChatGPT.
Apparently, Bing Search is able to index public ChatGPT conversations with the help of a special file called robots.txt. The file is then found in ChatGPT’s source code, as the spotter noticed that the AI app adds it to the <meta name=”robots” content=”index, follow command code, as you can see in the image below.
The tool has indexed dozens of public conversations, according to a video taken by the spotter on X, and many of them focus on various technology subjects.
Shameem Adhikarath also found out that Bing Search is indexing 1-1 ChatGPT conversations, as well, which should make all the ChatGPT users worried. Can your conversation with ChatGPT be indexed?
Can your ChatGPT conversation be indexed by Bing?
If your ChatGPT conversation is part of a shared link, OpenAI explicitly says that they’re not indexed by any search engine.
Should we expect shared links to show up in public search results on the Internet?
No, shared links are not designed to show up in public search results on the internet. They are intended for direct sharing between individuals and are not indexed by search engines. However, anyone with the link can view the shared content.
OpenAI
However, it seems that they indeed show up when searching for ChatGPT on Microsoft Bing. The spotter caught the attention of Mikhail Parakhin, leader of the Windows and Web Experiences Team, and he said that he was going to check the issue for more clarifications.
However, Bing Search could become a great security risk for those companies or individuals sharing sensitive data with ChatGPT.
While the partnership between the two companies is resulting in some impressive results: including the recent Copilot GPT Builder within Copilot Pro, which allows users to create their own Copilots, this situation could have legal consequences for OpenAI, and Microsoft.
