Bing Chat AI has finally given Microsoft’s Bing an edge over Google. And Microsoft is not leaving any stone unturned to take advantage of this situation. Owing to the fact that Bing Chat AI is only available in Microsoft Edge, the company’s own browser, the user base for the browser has grown exponentially, just like their search engine. But Microsoft has given users one more reason to switch to Microsoft Edge.
Now, Microsoft Edge users on the computer, too, can access Bing Chat AI on any website they want, just like for Bing mobile app users. This assures that during your workflow, you don’t have to open a new tab whenever you get the pressing need to ask Bing AI a question.
In case you prefer ChatGPT as your AI companion instead of Bing AI, you can check our other article to know how to add ChatGPT to the Microsoft Edge sidebar.
Enable Bing AI in Edge Sidebar
Now, to access Bing Chat AI from the Edge sidebar, you must have it enabled. Although it is enabled by default in the latest iteration of Microsoft Edge, if you previously disabled it, you will need to enable it. Interestingly, even if you have disabled the sidebar to be always visible, Bing Chat AI is still accessible in the side panel until you explicitly disable it. In fact, you can access the sidebar from the Bing Chat icon when you have disabled it from being shown always. If you didn’t previously disable Bing AI, you can move on to the next section instead.
To enable Bing AI, if you have the sidebar enabled, click the ‘Settings’ icon from the sidebar.
Otherwise, click the ‘More settings’ (three-dot menu) icon from the address bar and go to the browser’s ‘Settings’.
Then, go to ‘Sidebar’ from the navigation menu on the left. You’ll reach the same settings in both instances.
Now, click the ‘Discover’ option.
Finally, turn on the toggle for ‘Show Discover’.
Use Bing AI in the Edge Sidebar
Now, to use Bing AI in the Edge sidebar, click the ‘Bing’ icon on the far right corner of the address bar.
Bing Chat will open in the side panel. You can switch between the ‘Chat’, ‘Compose’, and ‘Insights’ modes from the tabs at the top. The Chat area is where you can interact with the chatbot. The Compose area is where you can generate text for different purposes, such as emails, blog posts, and letters. The Insights tab shows related information and analytical data for the website you’re currently viewing on the browser.
The Chat tab is the one that opens by default when you open Bing Chat AI in the sidebar. To start a conversation with the chatbot, type your question or request into the textbox at the bottom of the chat area. The chatbot will then respond with an answer or suggestion. You can continue to have a conversation with the chatbot by typing back and forth.
The Bing Chat AI sidebar can also be used to generate text for different purposes. To do this, click on the Compose button in the sidebar. This will open the compose area. In the compose area, you can select from a variety of text formats, such as emails, blog posts, paragraphs, and ideas.
You can also select from a variety of tones, such as professional, informational, casual, enthusiastic, and funny. Moreover, you can also choose the length of the generated text. Once you have selected the desired text format, tone, and other parameters, type your request into the compose area. The chatbot will then generate the text for you. You can ask it to regenerate the content if you don’t like it or copy it to use elsewhere if you do like it.
Insights is a relatively new feature that you can access by switching to the corresponding tab. It shows insights from Bing and related information to the webpage you’re currently viewing.
That’s all you need to know. Having Bing AI at your fingertips no matter what you’re browsing is going to be a game-changer.