Microsoft Boosts Bing with Advanced AI Features and Enhanced Chat Capabilities

Microsoft Doubles Down on AI with New Bing Features

Microsoft is significantly expanding its AI capabilities within the Bing search engine, marking a new era for search. The company is integrating generative AI more deeply, enhancing the Bing Chat experience, and introducing new features across its ecosystem.

The AI-Powered Transformation of Search

Microsoft's strategy heavily revolves around generative AI, building upon the success of Bing Chat, which is powered by OpenAI's GPT-4 and DALL-E 2 models. Since its launch, Bing has seen a surge in user engagement, with over 100 million daily active users and more than half a billion chats conducted. The company aims to make Bing more visual, personalized, and multimodal.

Key Enhancements to Bing Chat:

Waitlist-Free Access: The new AI-powered Bing Chat is now available to everyone without a waitlist, requiring only a Microsoft Account.
Visual Responses: Bing Chat will soon provide image-based answers where relevant, integrating visuals directly into chat responses, similar to Google's knowledge panels but in a card-like interface.
Citations: Fact-based responses will include citations, allowing users to easily trace information back to its source. Clicking a citation will highlight the relevant passage.
Chart and Graph Generation: Bing Chat will be able to create charts and graphs from data provided in prompts, transforming data presentation into visual formats.
Image Creator Expansion: The Image Creator, powered by DALL-E 2, will soon support over 100 languages, allowing users to generate images from text prompts in various languages and refine them with follow-up instructions.
Multimodal Search: Users will be able to upload images and search for related content or ask questions about them, enabling a more intuitive search experience.
Chat History: Bing Chat will store user conversation histories, allowing users to revisit previous chats and pick up where they left off. This feature addresses privacy concerns raised by European governments regarding AI chatbots.
Export and Share Functionality: Users will be able to export and share their Bing Chat conversations, including graphs and images, to documents or social media.
Plugins: Integration with third-party plugins from partners like OpenTable and Wolfram Alpha will extend Bing Chat's capabilities, enabling tasks such as booking reservations or solving complex scientific and mathematical problems.

Addressing AI Concerns and Responsible AI

Microsoft acknowledges past issues with Bing Chat's behavior, including generating misinformation and problematic content. The company emphasizes its commitment to responsible AI, citing toxicity classifiers, blacklists, and a team of human moderators to monitor for abuse. While the ethics and society team was recently laid off, Microsoft asserts that progress is being made in ensuring AI principles are integrated into product design. Regarding copyright concerns with AI training data, Microsoft's official stance is fair use, though they acknowledge the need for creator recompense.

Edge Browser Integration

The Edge browser is also receiving AI-powered updates:

Refreshed UI: Edge features a new design with rounded corners and containerized elements, aligning with Windows 11 aesthetics.
Compose Enhancements: The AI-powered Compose tool allows users to adjust the length, phrasing, and tone of generated text, with filters in place to prevent problematic tones.
Edge Actions: This feature translates specific Bing Chat prompts into browser automations, such as importing passwords, playing media, or organizing tabs.

Future Outlook

Microsoft sees these advancements as the beginning of the next generation of search. The company plans to further expand these AI capabilities, potentially integrating them across other Microsoft products like Office 365 and the Windows desktop. More details are expected at the upcoming Microsoft Build conference.

Images in the Article:

TechCrunch Desktop Logo
TechCrunch Mobile Logo
Microsoft Bing Chat (showing visual responses)
Image Creator in Bing Chat
Exporting and sharing chats from Bing Chat
Edge Actions in action

Topics Covered:

AI
Artificial Intelligence
Bing
Bing Chat
Generative AI
Microsoft
OpenAI
GPT-4
DALL-E 2
Multimodal AI
AI Ethics
AI Moderation
Search Engine Evolution
Productivity Tools
Web Browsers