Microsoft integrates ChatGPT-based Bing services with SwiftKey keyboard

Although at the time of Microsoft’s acquisition it was the most popular choice among Android users, the SwiftKey keyboard has gradually lost its edge to rival Gboard, which has only continued to evolve. As with Bing, salvation comes in the form of ChatGPT, with Microsoft integrating the AI-assisted chatbot wherever it can.

So popular that it has brought Bing Search out of anonymity, the chatbot based on partner Open AI technologies is about to be integrated with the SwiftKey Beta keyboard, where it will be able to offer all sorts of benefits, from autocomplete suggestions for phrases and sentences to near-complete rewriting of typed text. To be fair, Microsoft isn’t saying exactly what it’s all about, hinting that the experiment has yet to show its true potential.

What is certain is that for users who already use Bing Chat, the SwiftKey integration will seem rather redundant, taking the form of a shortcut to the functionality already offered in the Bing mobile app. Rather, we’re dealing with an attempt by Microsoft to incorporate the popular support service into as many of the company’s products as possible, in the hope of boosting their popularity.

The news of ChatGPT’s integration with the SwiftKey keyboard, however, comes after a potentially ill-advised decision, with Microsoft announcing last year that it was retiring the SwiftKey version for iOS, followed by its republication on the App Store a few weeks later. The change of heart also came with a promise to “invest a lot more in the keyboard app”, which Microsoft now seems to be more than honouring.