Microsoft not only wants to integrate the OpenAI development ChatGPT into its own products such as Azure, Microsoft 365 and Teams Premium, but also into the Bing search engine. This should be upgraded through the AI integration. A preview provides first insights.
Impressions come from the designer Own Yin, who presents them in a Medium post. Like other testers, he received a preview of Bing-ChatGPT. Microsoft itself should only call the new version of the search engine the “new Bing”. In essence, the Bing search is supplemented by functions that are already known from the ChatGPT web app.
Technical basis is GPT-4 – this is the current Large Language Model (LLM) that the OpenAI developers are currently working on. This language model is said to be significantly more capable than GPT-3 or GPT-3.5 on which ChatGPT is based.
Features of the new Bing search
Microsoft wants to position the new Bing as a “research assistant, personal planner and creative partner”, according to Yin. For example, the previous search bar is replaced by a text box that can contain up to 1,000 characters. Users can enter more precise requests with more context and specific instructions – similar to ChatGPT.
Bing should in this context also work like the chat bot and interact accordingly with the user. Microsoft's AI search engine should also be able to create more complex plans. Yin cites travel routes or meal plans as examples.
It is still possible to use the traditional search with the result lists. Users should be able to switch between the new and old Bing with a click.
Bings Chat GPT receives current data and sources
The special feature: The Bing version of ChatGPT will also be able to access current data. To date, the chat tool's web app available at OpenAI uses a model trained on data only going as far as 2021. ChatGPT does not yet know of more recent events such as the Ukraine war or the death of Queen Elizabeth II, so the corresponding search queries are correspondingly strange.
Another advantage that the Bing ChatGPT version promises: Users should not only receive information about the respective search query in text form, but also the sources to which the chat search engine refers. This should allow users to check for themselves whether the results are plausible.
Google's ChatGPT competition is in the starting blocks
Microsoft operates a close partnership with OpenAI. This was preceded by investments of up to 10 billion US dollars, now the products are to be successively equipped with the AI solution. It is not yet possible to say when the new Bing version will be available to everyone. According to Yin, there should first be a test phase for which interested parties can then register.
In addition to Microsoft, Google is also planning to integrate corresponding AI solutions into the search engine. In the case of Google, however, it is the in-house LaMDA language model. The launch of the ChatGPT competitor is expected on Wednesday, February 8th. Google has scheduled an event for this day to announce innovations for the search. The stream will be broadcast on YouTube.
The strategy for the coming week and months has already been indicated to shareholders and investors. Google's CEO Sundar Pichai said on the occasion of the publication of Alphabet's quarterly figures on February 2nd: “In the coming weeks and months we will make these language models – starting with LaMDA – available so that users can interact with them directly.” With the feedback and the test runs should be accompanied by further improvements.