Bing by Microsoft is undergoing an improvement with the integration of AI technology from OpenAI, the creators of ChatGPT. Soon, Bing will be able to respond to inquiries in a conversational manner, similar to ChatGPT. What are the capabilities of this new Bing? Is it superior to Google Search? And how can one sign up for it? We provide answers to all of these questions below.
First, what can the new Bing search do?
Bing is evolving to become more conversational and will have a better understanding of the context of your queries. Instead of just providing relevant links, it will also give you “essay-style” answers like ChatGPT. Microsoft states that these answers are generated by consolidating reliable sources from the web.
According to Microsoft, the new Bing can assist with creative tasks like writing poems, and stories, or even sharing project ideas.
In the “Chat” experience, users can interact with Bing and ask follow-up questions. For example, if you ask Bing to explain quantum computing and the answer is too complex, you can ask for a simpler explanation and Bing will respond accordingly. The goal is for Bing to understand the context of queries and provide replies in a conversational style.
Microsoft has provided some examples of questions that can be asked using Bing’s new chat feature, including help planning an anniversary trip, creating a three-course menu, coding assistance, and recommendations for a music festival. When searching for any of these questions, the new Bing search will appear in the results and the chat-based detailed answer will be shown on the right.
How to sign up for the new Bing experience?
The new Bing is currently in a limited release and requires signing up on a waitlist to gain access. To do this, visit the Bing website and look for the banner that says “Introducing the new Bing”.
Click on the banner and you will be taken to a page where you can preview the new search experience. From there, you can sign up for the waitlist by selecting “Join the Waitlist”.
The sign-up experience is available on both desktop and mobile versions of Bing Search, so it doesn’t matter how you access it. Note that a Microsoft Outlook account is required to be eligible.
Once you have joined the waitlist, just wait for approval. Microsoft will send an email to users once they have been granted access to the new Bing experience.
What is the new Bing Search built on? Is this the same as ChatGPT?
The new version of Bing aims to be more conversational like ChatGPT, but it is powered by a larger and stronger language model than the one behind ChatGPT. This allows Bing to handle certain queries that ChatGPT cannot, such as providing a detailed summary when searching for the best headphones in a specific price range. The answer comes in the form of a summary with relevant links at the bottom.
Bing is built on a powerful OpenAI language model, which is larger and more advanced than the models behind ChatGPT and GPT-3.5. Microsoft claims that this model is faster, more accurate, and more capable, though the exact size has not been disclosed.
The company is also using its proprietary Prometheus model to enhance the OpenAI model, which it says is crucial for providing relevant, timely, and safe results. The new Bing experience will also integrate search, browser, and chat.
What sort of questions can I ask Bing now?
The scope of questions you can ask with Bing’s new conversational feature is vast, as demonstrated by Microsoft. Whether you’re planning a trip to a foreign country or looking for things to do in a specific city, Bing will now provide detailed answers.
So are all the answers correct?
Microsoft is proceeding with caution in the launch of the new Bing, acknowledging that as an “early preview” it may sometimes produce “unexpected or inaccurate results.” The answers are based on web content and therefore may not always be accurate.
According to the company’s FAQ, AI has the potential to make mistakes, and information found on the internet may not always be reliable. Therefore, the FAQ states that it’s important to rely on personal judgment and to provide feedback to help improve Bing.
To ensure the responsible development of Bing, Microsoft has incorporated its AI principles into its design. The experience is centered around humans, with a safety system in place to mitigate failures and prevent misuse, including content filtering, operational monitoring, abuse detection, and other safeguards. The waitlist is in place to gather better feedback from users.
What if Bing search shows offensive content?
Microsoft is still in the process of testing the new Bing, and it encourages users to provide feedback by clicking on the flag icon located in the top right corner of each response. The company states that it will use user feedback to improve the safety of the search experience for all users.
