Microsoft launches Bing and Edge with integrated ChatGPT, beating Google to the punch

Google has been the dominant search engine for over 20 years now, but new technologies like AI-based language models could bring major changes to this market. Microsoft, a company that has invested heavily in OpenAI, has just released a version of its Bing search engine equipped with a yet-to-be-released language model, basically the next major version of ChatGPT. The launch came on the same day that Google announced Bard, its direct competitor for this feature.

Users will be able to perform natural language searches on Bing

Competition in the search engine area only now seems to be starting up again, after Microsoft released the version of Bing with a new built-in ChatGPT (called Prometheus Model). However, it seems to be a gradual release, with a waiting list already set up. Alongside the new Bing, the company is also offering a new version of the Edge browser that integrates AI assistant features.

According to Microsoft, the new AI-powered search engine enables conversational interaction. You can put a question in the search box and get an answer, in natural language. But it’s not just answers to questions that AI can provide. Like ChatGPT, Bing’s search engine can help you make a shopping list for a particular culinary recipe, help you plan an itinerary for a trip, and even write lyrics on a particular topic. The advantage over the current ChatGPT is that it includes many improvements, but this version is also connected to the internet and can provide relevant search links, and retrieve information from the internet.

For access to the new Bing, you can join the waiting list based on the Microsoft account you use to log into Windows. You can also test the search engine with preset questions to see what kind of answers it can give to common questions.

The Edge browser will help you compose text or quickly extract summaries of web pages

As for the new Edge, it will integrate new AI features like “chat” and “compose” into the sidebar. Chat will be able to read the page you’re on and make a summary, while Compose will allow you to compose new text based on criteria set by the user. This will allow you to write emails, social media posts or other types of text faster.

Microsoft doesn’t expect its AI-powered search engine solution to be perfect from the start, but rather an early version of what could become the real future of online search and virtual assistants. However, the remuneration of the information sources that this AI will use must also be considered. If search engine users are to receive information directly, without accessing sites and therefore without creating revenue for those sites, their future could be in jeopardy.