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Claude

Web search

A setting that lets Claude look things up on the internet, so it can answer with current information and link its sources.

Built-in knowledge versus web search Built-in knowledge stops at a cut-off; web search brings current facts with sources. BUILT-IN KNOWLEDGE Stops at the training cut-off Fast, but not current WEB SEARCH ON Current answer + source links Look it up, then verify

Web search lets Claude go and look, rather than rely on memory. Its built-in knowledge stops at a training cut-off, so for anything recent, prices, news, a today fact, you switch web search on and Claude fetches it live and shows the source links.

The habit: switch it on for anything current, then check the links. For timeless questions the built-in knowledge is faster and perfectly fine.

Often confused with: Extended thinking. Web search fetches new facts from the internet; [extended thinking](/glossary#extended-thinking) reasons harder with what Claude already has.

See it in a lesson: Models, thinking, and web access

Related terms

Extended thinkingModelClaude

Further reading

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