Bing Throws the First Punch and It Has the Power of ChatGPT's AI

The new age of web search has dawned, and the battle has just begun!

^{Image Courtesy: Screenshot from Announcement video at Microsoft.com}

Microsoft has just announced the new AI powered Bing. The search engine is trying to redefine search by integrating OpenAI's ChatGPT technology into Bing. Microsoft says this is the major shift for search in 20 years. Along with the new search engine, Microsoft has also displayed an upgraded Edge browser, which supposedly will enhance the search experience with Bing.

Bing Thinks It Can Solve the Problem

Microsoft says "40% of the time that people click on search links, they click back immediately". This is because people are not finding the right results in the linked pages.

Microsoft is calling the combination of new Bing and Edge "Your AI-powered copilot for the web". You can now get search results along with relevant answers. You can as well chat with the search engine and also create new content. With all these new tools, Microsoft thinks your search experience will be quicker and more relevant than ever.

^{Image Courtesy: Screenshot from Announcement video at Microsoft.com}

Search engines get 10 billion queries everyday. AI chatbots have seen an exponential rise in recent times. Bing will get you the best of both worlds by integrating both traditional search and AI.

^{Image Courtesy: Screenshot from Announcement video at Microsoft.com}

What's Different in the New Bing?

To start off, the search box is bigger and will accept up to 1000 words as input. This encourages people to type elaborate search sentences instead of the three word average, as with 75% of the search queries now. With more words in the input, the AI can understand the context of the search better and dish out a more relevant answer.

^{Image Courtesy: Screenshot from Announcement video at Microsoft.com}

On wide screens, the regular search results are shown on the left side, and the AI answers are shown on the right side in the browser window. Hovering over the answers will point to the websites where the information is available in greater detail.

^{Image Courtesy: Screenshot from Announcement video at Microsoft.com}

The new chat link is just below the search bar. This is more ChatGPT like, the input can be up to 2000 words. You can get chat style answers for your questions, and also get refined answers with further queries on the same topic. Again, unlike ChatGPT, web links are shown for further information.

^{Image Courtesy: Screenshot from Announcement video at Microsoft.com}

Why It the New Bing Better With Edge Browser?

Bing is now more integrated with Microsoft Edge browser. This brings in-article AI searches. For example, if you are going through a web page and want to adapt the content to your needs, you can use the newly integrated functions to do it. Microsoft, in its presentation has shown a piece of Python code from Stack Overflow converted to Rust in a few seconds, without leaving the browser tab.

^{Image Courtesy: Screenshot from Announcement video at Microsoft.com}

How Is the New Bing Different From ChatGPT?

New Bing is much more powerful than ChatGPT. Also it can provide more up-to-date information unlike ChatGPT, which has a cutoff date of 2021. While ChatGPT is only a text chat tool, Bing does bring a lot more to the table with Answers and in-article search along with chat function.

^{Image Courtesy: Screenshot from Announcement video at Microsoft.com}

How to Get the New Bing?

You can join the waitlist for the new Bing at bing.com/new. If you do not have an account, you can create one. However, you have to solve some mind bending puzzles along the way. Once you are on the waitlist, you have the option to get preferential treatment by opting to set Microsoft Defaults on your PC and by installing Microsoft Bing App on your phone. You may ask why? Maybe because you need to search the new way, and there is no other way.

^{Image Courtesy: Screenshot from Announcement video at Microsoft.com}

AI Is a True Game Changer in the Game of Search Monopoly

Google, as one can expect, will come with its own AI offering. It has dominated the search industry for more than a couple of decades. Bing, although has been around for a while, did not get much market share. But now, it has a fantastic product on its hands. All it remains to be seen is who wins this round. But who-so-ever wins, it is actually the victory of AI.