Web Search

Use current web information in meinGPT: via the + menu in the chat, the meinGPT Web model, or the Research app.

meinGPT can pull current information from the internet into your answers. There are three ways to do this. All of them use the same search under the hood (our search provider Linkup) — they differ in how you start them, which model answers, and where the result ends up.

The three ways at a glance

  • Web search in the chat — switchable on top of any model via the "+" menu.
  • The "meinGPT Web" model — a chat model with web search built in.
  • Research app — its own app in the sidebar, with history and "Deep Research".

The actual mechanics are described below under Web search in the chat; the other two ways refer back to it.

Web search in the chat

The built-in Web Search tool gives the model access to current information from the internet.

Enabling it

You enable web search in three places:

Who creates the search query

You don't provide the search terms directly — the AI model currently running your chat does. It reads your prompt and formulates a suitable search query from it on its own. Your prompt is not taken over verbatim but translated into search terms.

Two modes

Depending on the task, the model picks between two approaches on its own:

  • Direct search — a single search query for quick, single facts.
  • Research agent — for broader questions: a dedicated research step that runs several searches in sequence and reads individual pages in full before summarizing the result. This also applies when you provide a specific page (e.g. "Read https://example.com/whitepaper and summarize the three key claims").

Forwarding to Linkup

The search query created by the model is forwarded to our search provider Linkup, which performs the actual web search and returns the hits (GDPR-compliant; More information).

From result to answer

Linkup returns the found content (titles, excerpts, sources) to the model. The model evaluates it and writes the final answer in the chat — with a preview of the sources (title, description, favicon) and references to the pages used.

The "meinGPT Web" model

Instead of switching web search on, you can select the model meinGPT Web directly in the model picker. It is based on Claude Haiku 4.5, is fast and EU-hosted, and has web search permanently enabled — you can't turn it off here. The flow and result are the same as with web search in the chat. Use it when you want quick, source-backed answers without toggling anything.

Research app

In the sidebar under Apps → Research, web search is available as its own app — with a dedicated page instead of a chat toggle. Web search is always active here. The search runs via Linkup, and like the meinGPT Web model the same fast model answers (Claude Haiku 4.5). Two things differ from web search in the chat:

  • Deep research (toggle): Unlike in the chat, where the model itself decides whether to search briefly or research more thoroughly, you decide via a toggle here. When enabled, a more thorough, multi-step research runs (more searches, more pages read) with a more detailed, cross-checked answer and more sources. It takes longer but often delivers better research results.
  • History: Every research is saved. Under Past research you'll find your previous research again — searchable via the field above.

Ask your question

Open Apps → Research and type your question into the composer.

Optional: turn on Deep Research

Turn on Deep Research if you want a more thorough, multi-step research instead of a quick answer.

Find past research

Under Past research, below the composer, you'll find your previous research — even while a new search is running.

Note

The app is labeled Research in the sidebar but internally uses the same web search function. The web search toggle inside the chat input is still called Web search.

The three ways compared

All three use the same Linkup search — here are the differences at a glance:

CriterionWeb search in the chat"meinGPT Web" modelResearch app
Access"+" menu in the chatModel pickerApps → Research
Web searchswitchable (on/off)always onalways on
Answering modelfreely selectableClaude Haiku 4.5Claude Haiku 4.5
Research depthmodel decidesmodel decidesyou – "Deep Research" toggle
Historyin the chatin the chatown, searchable history
Ideal forresearch right in the conversation, any modelquick, source-backed answersstandalone research with history

Good to know

Applies to all three ways:

Note

10 sources per search query, not the whole internet — comparable to the first Google results page. For broader research, use the Research app with Deep Research or build a Workflow with several research steps.

  • Paywalled and login-protected pages are usually not accessible.
  • Very recent events (last few hours) may be missing depending on indexing.
  • JavaScript-heavy pages without server rendering sometimes return only skeleton content.

Restricting sources to specific domains

For the web search on this page, there is no platform setting that restricts sources to specific domains. If you want to allow only certain sites, instruct the model directly in the prompt:

"Research GDPR compliance, use only heise.de and golem.de as sources."

This works reasonably well in practice but is not a hard security boundary. For critical research, verify the result manually against the named sources.

Tip

If a soft recommendation in the prompt isn't enough, Advanced Web Search is a separate tool that enforces a domain whitelist technically — see Advanced Web Search with a technical domain whitelist below.

Advanced Web Search with a technical domain whitelist

For cases where a domain restriction needs to be more than a recommendation — where it needs to be technically enforced — there's a separate, additionally activatable tool: Advanced Web Search (internally: linkup-web-search). Unlike the standard web search on this page, it passes the source selection directly to the search API instead of only recommending it via the prompt.

Standard web searchAdvanced Web Search
Activation"+" menu in chat, base tool in assistants/workflowsAdditional tool, Databases tab in the tool settings of assistants/workflows
Domain restrictionPrompt only (soft recommendation to the model)Via configuration fields, passed directly to the search API (technical boundary)
Other optionsImage results on/off, maximum result count (1–50)

Adding it as a tool

  1. Open the assistant editor or a workflow step.
  2. In the Tools section, switch to the Databases tab.
  3. Activate Advanced Web Search.
  4. Open its configuration via the gear icon.

Note

The configuration fields (including the domain whitelist) can be edited by anyone with edit or owner rights on that specific assistant or workflow — this isn't necessarily tied to the organization Admin role. Whether the tool itself is available organization-wide is a separate decision an Admin makes via tool management in settings.

Configuration fields

FieldDescription
Include DomainsComma-separated domains (e.g. microsoft.com, learn.microsoft.com). When set, search results come exclusively from these domains.
Exclude DomainsComma-separated domains to exclude from search results.
Include ImagesImage results on/off (default: on).
Max ResultsMaximum result count, 1–50 (default: 10).

Attention

If you leave Include Domains empty, the tool searches the whole web without restriction. For a hard allowlist, you need to fill in the field explicitly — a domain restriction in the prompt alone (see above) is not enough for this tool.

Prompting tips for better web search results

PrincipleDescription
Search-engine perspectiveFormulate keywords you would also type into a Google search. Prefer "GDPR data processing agreement obligations 2026" over "Tell me about GDPR".
Few examples in the promptFew-shot examples can mislead the web search. Better to phrase the task directly.
State scope and timeframe"Q3 2025 quarterly reports from DAX companies" yields better hits than "quarterly reports".
Define a fallback"If no reliable sources are found, say so explicitly and do not speculate."
Verify claimsFor important statements, add a verification step: "Check the statements above against the found sources and flag anything unsupported."
Was this page helpful?