Microsoft Launches New Versions of Bing and Edge Supported by ChatGPT

Illustration. (doc. Microsoft)

JAKARTA - Microsoft has finally announced a new version of its Bing search engine and Edge browser, which will be integrated with OpenAI's ChatGPT-style AI language model technology.

“AI will fundamentally change every software category, starting with the biggest category of all – search,” said Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella in the company's official blog quoted on Wednesday, February 8.

"Today, we're launching Bing and Edge powered by AI Copilot and chat, to help people get more out of search and the web."

Side by side

With this new integration, users will see search results with AI annotations side by side and also chat with an AI model similar to ChatGPT.

Microsoft says there are 10 billion search queries every day, but they estimate half of them go unanswered. That's because users use search to do things they weren't originally designed to do.

It's a great way to find websites, but for more complex queries or tasks, search engines can't do it. Microsoft says a limited preview of the new Bing will be available online starting today. Here are Bing's new capabilities equipped with AI.

1. Better Search

The new Bing will provide users with an enhanced version of the familiar search experience, providing more relevant results for simple things like sports scores, stock quotes, and weather, along with a new sidebar showing more comprehensive answers if users so desire.

2. Provide Complete Answers

Bing will also display review results from around the web to find and summarize the answers users are looking for. For example, they can get detailed instructions on how to replace eggs with other ingredients in a cake that bakes on the spot, without scrolling through multiple results.

3. New Chat Experience

For more complex searches, like planning detailed itineraries or researching what TV to buy, Bing's new capabilities will offer more interactive chats. The chat experience can narrow the search until the user gets the full answer they are looking for by asking for more details and ideas with the links provided, so the user can make an immediate decision.

4. A Creative Spark to Provide Inspiration

The new Bing can generate content to assist users such as writing emails, creating a five-day itinerary for a dream vacation to Hawaii, with links to book travel and accommodations, prepare for a job interview, or create a quiz for a trivia night.

The new Bing also cites all sources, so users can see links to the web content they refer to.

New Microsoft Edge Experience

In addition to announcing a new version of its Bing search engine, Microsoft is also rolling out a New Edge browser experience.

Microsoft updated the Edge browser with AI capabilities and a new look, and added two new functions, such as chatting and writing.

With the Edge Sidebar, users can request long financial report summaries to get the main conclusions, then use the chat function to request comparisons with competitors' financials and automatically enter them into tables.

Users can also ask Edge for help writing content, such as LinkedIn posts, by providing some pointers to get started. Then they can ask him or her to help update the tone, format, and length of a post. Edge can understand the web page the user is on and adjust accordingly.

Furthermore, Microsoft and OpenAI also innovate together to responsibly implement safeguards to protect against harmful content. Both work to address issues such as misinformation and disinformation, content blocking, data security, and preventing the promotion of harmful or discriminatory content in line with enterprise AI principles.

"The work we are doing with OpenAI builds on our company's years of efforts to ensure that our AI systems are responsible by design. We will continue to deploy the full strength of our responsible AI ecosystem, including researchers, engineers, and policy experts." to develop new approaches to mitigate risk," said Nadella.

However, the new Bing isn't the first service to experiment with an AI-assisted search engine. Earlier this week Google launched Bard, an AI-powered conversational bot that it says will power the future of its search experience, though it's not yet publicly available.

For now, Microsoft has made the new Bing available on a limited preview basis with some pre-filled search results at bing.com/new, where there is also a registration link for the waiting list.