How to use Bing Chat (and how it's different from ChatGPT) | ZDNET
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Bing, Microsoft's search engine, has created a new feature called Bing Chat powered by AI that is now available for widespread use. Unlike ChatGPT, Bing Chat boasts internet access, which allows it to provide up-to-date responses.
To get started with the new Bing, you need to log in to your Microsoft account and use Microsoft Edge. Once you access Bing.com, you can choose whether to use the search or chat formats for your queries. The following are the ways to access Bing Chat:
- Click on Chat at the top of the screen
- Click on the Bing logo on the sidebar to the right of the screen
- Click on 'Try it' or 'Learn more' right below the search bar
Bing Chat is always accessible from the Edge sidebar, no matter what website you're on. If you're not logged in to your Microsoft account, you'll be prompted to do so when you try to access Bing Chat. You can create a Microsoft account using any email address, including Gmail and Yahoo! email addresses.
Once you're in Bing Chat, you can write your prompts and questions in the text area on the chat window and hit enter to submit them. The conversational tone in the rendering of search results sets Bing Chat apart from other AI chatbots. Bing Chat can generate text, write code, ask complex questions, and hold a conversation with follow-up questions.
The large language model operating behind the scenes intelligently formats search results into an answer to a specific question, making it easier for anyone to find answers to their questions on the internet. Unlike the free version of ChatGPT, which is only trained on data up to the year 2021, Bing Chat is trained to provide up-to-date information.
While Bing Chat and ChatGPT have some similarities, users prefer one or the other. In terms of accuracy, Microsoft claims the integration of GPT-4 with Bing makes it more powerful than ChatGPT. However, Bing Chat can be slow to respond and sometimes miss prompts, which can be remedied by asking a follow-up question such as, "Did you search for that?"
In conclusion, Bing Chat is a fully fledged AI chatbot that offers users more control over their experience and a more intuitive UI. The integration with the latest language model, GPT-4, makes Bing Chat more powerful and accurate than ChatGPT.