A new version of popular search engine, Bing has been announced by software giant, Microsoft.
The new product offering which is powered by an upgraded version of the AI technology of the ChatGPT chatbox will be launching together the new AI-enhanced features Microsoft Edge browser.
The company in a statement promised that the two of them will provide a new experience for browsing through the web while users also find information online.
Microsoft CEO, Satya Nadella while announcing the products at an event said: “It’s a new day in search”.
According to Nadella, the paradigm for web search has for decades remain unchanged, adding that artificial intelligence (AI) has the ability to deliver information more fluidly and quickly than traditional methods.
“The race starts today, and we’re going to move and move fast,” Nadella said. “Most importantly, we want to have a lot of fun innovating again in search, because it’s high time.”
Microsoft in today’s demo showed what it called the “new bing”, a product offering that works in various configurations.
In one mode, traditional search results were showed side by side with AI annotations, while another mode allows users communicate verbally with the Bing chatbox, where they can ask it questions in a chat interface akin to that of ChatGPT.
A cross section of example searches were shown in the demo, including querying Bing for recipes, travel tips, and shopping for furniture from Ikea.
Bing was asked to create an itinerary for each day of a 5-day trip to Mexico City in one of the demos, with the chatbox answering the question directly by describing a rough itinerary together with links to sources for more information.
The new Bing has a feature that ChatGPT does not have and it is that it can retrieve news about recent events.
The search engine could also answer questions asked on its own launch, where it cited stories published by reputable news site in the last hour.
According to Microsoft, these new features of Bing are powered by an upgraded version of GPT 3.5, an AI OpenAI language model that powers the ChatGPT. The company dubbed this the “Prometheus Model”, noting that it is more furnished than the GPT 3.5 as it is able to answer search queries with up-to-date information and annotated answers.
However, the new Bing was live today for a limited preview for desktop, with users only being able to ask one of a number of pre-set queries while it receives the same results each time. It also has a ‘waitlist’ feature that allows users sign up for full access in the future.
Aside the launch of the new Bing, Microsoft is also launching “chat” and “compose”, two new AI-enhanced features for its Edge browser.
“Chat” gives users the leverage to summarise the webpage or document they are looking at, while asking questions about its contents.
“Compose” functions as a writing assistant that helps to generate text from emails to social media posts, working on a few starting prompts.
Microsoft is sure betting big on ChatGPT and has not hidden this from inception. But it stands to benefit in the following ways,
- Improved search results: By incorporating ChatGPT, Microsoft can provide more accurate and relevant search results to users. ChatGPT’s ability to understand natural language and provide context-aware responses will enhance the user experience and provide more accurate search results.
- Enhanced conversational search: ChatGPT allows for a more conversational search experience, which can make it easier for users to find what they’re looking for. ChatGPT can understand questions and provide answers in a conversational format, making the search experience more intuitive and user-friendly.
- Increased efficiency: By automating some of the tasks performed by human search engineers, Microsoft can increase the efficiency of the search process. This can result in faster search results and a more streamlined search experience for users.
- Better customer support: ChatGPT can be integrated into customer support systems to provide faster and more accurate support to users. ChatGPT’s ability to understand natural language and provide context-aware responses will enhance the customer support experience and improve the resolution time for customer inquiries.
- Improved data analysis: ChatGPT can be used to analyze and interpret data, which can lead to new insights and improved decision making. This can benefit Microsoft and its customers by providing a deeper understanding of their data and enabling them to make informed decisions based on that data.
Integrating ChatGPT into Bing will bring several benefits to Microsoft and its users, including improved search results, enhanced conversational search, increased efficiency, better customer support, and improved data analysis. These benefits will result in a better user experience and improved decision making for Microsoft and its customers.
