You’ve probably heard the words “Bing-ChatGPT Integration” or “Bing AI” creating a lot of buzz right now. AI is the direction we’re going in and in a bid to arrive at that future, numerous AI tools have been appearing in the market. But none of the tools till now have made an impact that would measure in any way to ChatGPT. Ever since OpenAI released the research preview of the beloved chatbot to the audience, it has been making headlines. ChatGPT became the fastest app ever to acquire 100 million users – in a mere 2 months.
But it wasn’t just the audience that loved the tool; tech-giant Microsoft did as well. And soon enough, the company increased its investment in OpenAI and announced its intention to bring the technology to Bing, its search engine as well as Edge, its browser. And when Satya Nadella (CEO of Microsoft) said that they were going to move fast, they weren’t kidding.
The Microsoft Bing AI (or the new Bing) that enjoys the integration with ChatGPT-like AI is already here, faster than people were anticipating. Here’s the full picture and our two cents on this latest development.
What is Microsoft’s Bing AI Chatbot?
Microsoft’s Bing AI Chatbot is powered by the same technology (well, technically an upgraded version) that powers OpenAI’s ChatGPT. But it’s not exactly the same as it. And that’s the logical thing to do. While ChatGPT is entirely a conversational model, Bing’s AI is meant to enhance the existing search experience.
So, Bing AI uses a new generation model from OpenAI that’s more advanced than GPT 3.5, the model ChatGPT is based on. But don’t yet discredit ChatGPT in the makings of the Bing AI. The model uses “key learnings and advancements from ChatGPT and GPT-3.5” which ChatGPT has accumulated in the real world during its research preview. Without ChatGPT, there would be no Bing AI.
Microsoft calls the new model on which Bing AI is based Prometheus, a nod Greek-mythology enthusiasts would well understand. For those who need a little mythology lesson, Prometheus defied the gods by stealing fire and giving it to humans, a revolutionary act that ushered in a new age of human civilization. Microsoft hopes to revolutionize Search, which has stayed the same for decades, in the same way with its AI chatbot, ushering in a new age.
Microsoft’s new model differs in one significant way from ChatGPT – it has access to the internet. Hence, unlike ChatGPT, it can give relevant and up-to-date answers, something that is necessary if it’s supposed to replace traditional Search. Playing around with ChatGPT while knowing it could not churn the latest information could be overlooked. But one simply cannot expect users to accept this behavior from a Search engine.
Chat and Search: The Workings of Bing AI
The new Bing would incorporate AI in various configurations. It would work side-by-side when users perform a traditional search; AI would annotate the traditional search results with its own inputs. According to Microsoft, with the help of AI, Search can do things it couldn’t before like answering queries Search wasn’t equipped to handle.
Additionally, users can also chat with the chatbot directly in chat mode. In chat mode, the AI can handle far more complex searches. You can ask it to create itineraries for your vacations, whip you a diet plan for the week, help you prep for job interviews, etc. You can also refine the chat experience – just like with ChatGPT – by asking for more details, clarity, ideas, etc. in the follow-up messages. The chat experience is essentially modeled after ChatGPT with the key difference that Bing AI has access to the internet. Moreover, it won’t just give you the latest information but it will also provide you with relevant links (for example, links for bookings to act on if you’re using it to create an itinerary) and cite its sources.
Accessing the New Bing
The new Bing is available in a desktop limited preview currently. At this stage, it only offers users a glimpse of what they can expect from the search engine in the future. You can go to bing.com/new to get an idea of its capabilities.
Along with listing all the features, it offers some 12 sample prompts that you can try.
Clicking on either of the prompts will load the search results for it, along with the input from the AI on the right. But other than seeing the results for the pre-defined prompts, there’s not much an average user can do right now.
Complete search and chat mode is only available to users who have access. To get access, you need to get on the waitlist. You’ll need to sign in to your Microsoft account on Bing to sign up for the waitlist. There’s no way to access the chatbot right now without getting on the waitlist. Click the ‘Join the Waitlist’ button to sign yourself up. After that, you’ll get an email in your account indicating your status, i.e., that you’re on the waitlist. You’ll get another email when you finally get off the waitlist and get access.
To fasten the process, you can complete the additional steps by clicking the ‘Access the New Bing Faster’ button.
It will take you to a link asking you to set Bing defaults on your computer, which includes downloading the Bing Wallpaper app and setting Bing as your default search engine, as well as installing the Microsoft Bing app on your mobile phone by scanning the given QR code. Again, you should be logged in to your Microsoft account while completing the steps from the link to reap the benefits.
There’s no knowing when you’ll get off the waitlist though or if there are any specific criteria. But it can take as few as 36 hours to get off the waitlist. Again, there are no guarantees and it could take longer as Microsoft scales the access in the upcoming weeks.
Once you’re off the waitlist, you’ll be able to access the AI in both Search and Chat on Bing on the desktop. The mobile preview will also come in the coming weeks.
Bing AI is creating ripples in the community and has already led to a massive rise in users installing and using Bing. Will it be the thing that’ll finally put Bing ahead of Google, or will Google’s AI Bard be able to keep up? It’ll be interesting to see what turns this race takes!