ChatGPT search starts threads without file upload ability

I have ChatGPT as my default search engine in MS Edge. I have noticed that when I perform searches this starts a new thread with ChatGPT. However, these new threads do not have the ability to uploads files to them, as it is greyed out. I assume this may be an intentional design decision by OpenAI, but I would prefer to have the ability to upload files in these threads for more flexibility in using the search function. Has anyone else experienced this, or is there an option to enable file uploads in search-initiated threads?