The same AI technology that powers the chatbot ChatGPT has been updated and included in the latest edition of Microsoft’s Bing search engine. A fresh experience for exploring the web and obtaining information online is promised by the firm as it introduces the product alongside new AI-enhanced features for its Edge browser.
At a launch ceremony for the products, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella declared, “It’s a new day in search.” The paradigm for web search, according to Nadella, hasn’t changed in decades, but AI can offer information more swiftly and fluidly than conventional techniques.
The company displayed how “the new Bing” operated in various settings. One of them allows users to interact directly with the Bing chatbot by asking it questions in a chat interface like ChatGPT, while another mode displays conventional search results alongside AI annotations.
Microsoft demonstrated several sample searches, including looking for travel advice, recipes, and Ikea furnishings. Bing was instructed to “create an itinerary for each day of a 5-day trip to Mexico City” in one demonstration. The chatbot provided the complete response, including a general itinerary and providing links to more resources. In another, it showed travel destinations for an anniversary trip that are within a 3-hour flight from London
According to Microsoft, the AI OpenAI language model that underpins ChatGPT, GPT 3.5, has been updated to power all of these functionalities. Microsoft refers to this as the “Prometheus Model” and claims that it is more capable than GPT 3.5 in providing search queries with current information and annotated results.
Today marks the launch of the new Bing “for desktop limited preview,” but it seems users may only “ask” one of a number of pre-programmed inquiries, and each time they do, they get the same answers. A queue for future registration for full access is also available.
Microsoft is also introducing “chat” and “compose”, two new AI-enhanced services for its Edge browser in addition to the revamped Bing. They’ll be integrated into Edge’s sidebar. “Compose” serves as a writing assistant, helping to generate text, from emails to social media postings, depending on a few initial cues, while “chat” enables users to summarize the webpage or document they’re viewing and ask questions about its contents.
