Microsoft announced a new version of the Bing search engine that features artificial intelligence. This version implements OpenAI’s ChatGPT technology that has taken the world by storm since its launch last year.
The move is the biggest threat Google has seen to its dominance in web search and marks the start of a new race between the two companies.
“The race starts today,” said Microsoft boss Satya Nadella.
Developed by Microsoft-backed OpenAI, ChatGPT uses deep learning to generate human responses to queries.
Nadella said artificial intelligence will change the nature of online search and the way we interact with other software.
Bing will respond to searches with more detailed information and not just links to different websites. Users can communicate with the bot while contextual answers will be seen on the right side of the search page.
The new Bing search engine will be available immediately but with a limited number of searches for each person.
The news comes a day after Google revealed details of the Bard communication bot.
Both companies are fighting to get their products to market as soon as possible and as widely available as possible.
Microsoft’s investment will help the company compete from a much stronger position with Google. It’s just the first step in an arms race on the artificial intelligence front among Big Tech.
Microsoft is one of the first backers of OpenAI and has invested billions of dollars in the artificial intelligence company. Last month, it announced it would expand its collaboration with OpenAI with a multi-year, multi-billion-dollar investment.
It has since launched a Microsoft Teams Premium service with ChatGPT featuring a feature that generates meeting notes and summaries.
Microsoft has said that Bing will use OpenAI technology that is even more advanced than the ChatGPT technology launched last year. Its powers will be incorporated into the Edge browser.
Analysts say ChatGPT, which has helped many students pass exams and tests, has the potential to disrupt many professions, including journalism.
But it has been criticized for giving wrong answers at times. It also generates answers on data sets that are 2021 and older so many answers may seem out of date.
