Microsoft today announced a new version of its Bing search engine at a special event on Tuesday, with an updated version based on the same AI technology as the popular ChatGPT chatbot.
The company intends to launch the new search engine alongside an updated version of the Edge web browser and promises that both products will offer improved search capabilities, richer answers, a new chat experience, and the ability to create content.
"It's a new day in search," Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said at today's event. “To enable people to unlock the joy of discovery, experience the wonders of creativity, and make better use of the world's knowledge, today we are improving the way the world uses the Internet by reinventing two tools used by billions of people every day and the browser engine,” the company said in a blog post. search".
The company estimates that search patterns have not changed in 20 years, with nearly half of all searches not answering users' questions. She also said that the advent of conversational AI could change that by providing information more smoothly and quickly.
As Microsoft describes it, the "new Bing" provides users with a chat feature where users can ask questions and get answers in natural language. The product uses an updated version of OpenAI's AI-based language model that supports GPT chat, a so-called "Prometheus model" that provides up-to-date information with annotated answers.
In a live demo, Microsoft showed off the new Bing profile, which displays traditional search results with annotations and an AI-powered chat interface.
The American tech giant offers many examples of searches, such as: finding recipes, travel tips, buying furniture from IKEA, and more.
In one demo, the new Bing was asked to "create an itinerary for each day of a 5-day trip to Mexico". The question was answered via a chatbot that described the route and links to sources of information.
Microsoft said the new Bing will be available today in a "limited desktop preview" via Bing.com, and users can try out a limited number of queries and sign up for full access in the future.
The launch of the new Bing comes as Microsoft and rival Google are making waves in the field of artificial intelligence. Interest in AI capable of generating scripts has grown since the launch of the popular chatbot ChatGBT on the web in late November.
Working closely with OpenAI, the developer of GPT chatbot software, Microsoft is looking to capitalize on this interest and has announced how it will integrate the technology into its suite of desktop applications for tasks like closing and closing a meeting. Automated Program Instructions.
At the same time, Google was surprised by what some have called a paradigm shift in how users find information on the web. The launch of ChatGBT is said to have set off alarm bells within the search giant as longtime co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin have been brought in to help with what could be a threat to the company's biggest revenue engine.
To thwart Microsoft's announcement today, Google yesterday unveiled its very own GBT cat, which it calls Bard. CEO Sundar Pichai described the software as an "experimental AI chat service" but warned that it will be tested with a small group of users and rolled out to several countries in the coming weeks.
But the big question for Microsoft and Google is: Will AI chatbots replace search? How does this technology work with current methods of finding information on the Internet, and what happens if you make a mistake?