Microsoft Drops Waitlist for Bing's ChatGPT-Enhanced Search
Microsoft has removed the waitlist and granted free access to its AI-enabled Edge web browser. The move makes Microsoft the first company with a major, freely-accessible AI search engine, a change that could have a dramatic impact on the future of the web. The elder tech giant beefed up Bing chat’s capabilities as well, with features including a chat history that lets the AI remember your previous conversations and a handy Bing chat tool in the Edge sidebar.
Microsoft has opened its ChatGPT-powered search engine to the public. The new Bing isn’t done yet, but the AI search engine and its related tools are now in “open preview” and available to the public without a waitlist. Microsoft says Bing’s chat and search results will also include more visual elements such as charts and graphs, rather than limiting responses to text.
The announcement includes a long list of changes. Microsoft is working to move its chatbot from an isolated product to something integrated with the wider web. As part of Thursday’s announcement, the company said it will soon introduce a new “actions” feature for Bing and Edge that let outside developers build features on top of Bing. Microsoft says this will allow users to complete more tasks without navigating to a new page in the web browser.
The most significant part of Microsoft’s announcement is the simple fact that it makes chatbots easily accessible. Right now, the biggest roadblock holding AI back from mass adoption is the fact that there’s no simple user interface. Chatbots often make up results entirely, a phenomenon AI researchers call “hallucination.” This and other shortcomings have drawn criticism from some AI experts.
Microsoft’s deal with OpenAI has given the aged computing giant a suddenly renewed relevance in the tech landscape. Its changes to Edge are part of an ongoing, decades-long browser war which Google is thus far winning by a mile. In the latest petty chapter in browser history, Microsoft intentionally broke a Chrome feature that made it easier to change your default browser on Windows.
Microsoft is hellbent on using its souped up Bing as a springboard to take on Google, one of its biggest competitors. Its changes to Edge are part of an ongoing, decades-long browser war which Google is thus far winning by a mile. In the AI race, whoever reaches the finish line first will be the winner.
