It’s a new day for search
Last week, at a press event in Redmond, Washington, Microsoft announced its long-rumored integration of OpenAI’s GPT-4 model into Bing, providing a ChatGPT-like experience within the search engine. More than a million users queued up for the test in the first 48 hours after the launch. It is currently only available on computers.
Support for iOS and Android will have to wait.
Bing with ChatGPT: the first users
The service is based on the same model as the ChatGPT chatbot, specially improved and enhanced by OpenAI. It is able to find information online and present it to those interacting with it in a conversational dynamic, rather than simply displaying a list of hyperlinks (SERPs) following the input of one or more keywords (queries).
This new feature, based on artificial intelligence, will be accompanied by a redesign of the Edge browser interface to offer better search, more comprehensive answers, a new chat experience and the ability to generate content. The rollout will begin soon, but it is not known when it will reach all those who have requested it.
“It’s a new day for search,” Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said today.“We’re excited to give you access to a preview of the new Bing, your Al-based co-pilot for the web. As you start using the product, we’d love to get your feedback to help make the new Bing even better – use the feedback buttons to help us learn. We don’t have a mobile experience ready yet – we’re actively working on it and it will be ready soon. In the meantime, keep using the new Bing on your desktop and download the Bing app from your favourite app store to make sure you’re ready for the best experience when your mobile device is ready. “, he said.
What Bing can do now
In December 2022, just under 9% of people surfing the web globally used Bing, compared to 84% for Google search. However, Microsoft may have found a way to really compete with Google.
When traditional web search works for finding a website, but not for more complex questions or tasks, the new Bing offers an enhanced version of the usual search experience, analysing results from across the web to find and summarise the best answer for users.
Instead of typing a few keywords into a search bar to get a series of links to websites to open and read, as with Google Search, the new version of Bing allows users to get an instant answer to their question, formulated by AI.
For more complex searches, such as planning an itinerary or looking for a TV to buy, the new Bing offers a new interactive chat that lets you refine your search until you get the most complete answer, complete with hyperlinks.
In addition, if GPT Chat was trained on pre-2020 sources and cannot answer current questions, the new Bing is able to search the web in real time to find an answer, citing the sources it used to reach that conclusion.
It can also generate content to help users write an email, create a travel itinerary with links to book transport and accommodation, prepare for an interview, etc.
