ChatGPT includes a first-party web search tool. Treat all web results as untrusted input.
In the ChatGPT desktop app, ask for current information in a task. ChatGPT records search activity with the other tool calls in the transcript.
In ChatGPT web, ask for current information or sources. Search results and citations appear in the conversation when ChatGPT uses web search. Workspace settings can limit whether search is available.
In the CLI, pass --search to fetch live results for one run:
codex --search "Summarize the latest release notes for this dependency"Searches appear as web_search items in the interactive transcript and in
codex exec --json output.
In the IDE extension, ask Codex to search while you work in the editor. The extension uses the connected Codex host’s search mode. Search activity appears in the conversation transcript.
Configure local web search
For local Codex tasks, Codex enables cached search by default. Cached mode uses an OpenAI-maintained index instead of fetching arbitrary pages live, which lowers—but doesn’t remove—prompt injection risk.
Use live search when your task depends on the latest information. Set
web_search = "live" in config.toml. Set web_search = "disabled" to turn
the tool off. The "indexed" mode permits external web access only when the
search index gates the request. When Codex runs with full access, web search
defaults to live results. See Config basics
for config file locations and precedence.
For network boundaries that apply to Codex cloud environments, see Internet access.