- Bing AI is now available to everyone in open preview
- New features include rich formats, multimodal support, conversation histories, and third-party plugins
- Microsoft is working on turning Bing’s AI chat into a bona fide platform
Microsoft has announced the open preview of Bing AI, its revamped search engine powered by OpenAI’s GPT-4. Users can now access the chatbot without having to deal with a waiting list, although they will still need to sign in to Bing in the Edge browser or in the Bing mobile apps. In addition, Microsoft has implemented several new features to improve the user experience.
New Bing AI Features
One of the new features is the ability to go beyond just text responses and offer charts, graphs, and rich formatting.
Leveraging DALL-E to create AI-generated images, Bing Image Creator now also supports the 100+ languages offered by Bing’s standard search.
Also, Microsoft is working on multimodal support, which would allow uploading images to search for specific content.
Another feature that users will appreciate is the addition of conversation histories, allowing them to continue previous discussions at will.
Microsoft is also optimizing the user experience by allowing clicking a link in a chat result to move the conversation to the Edge sidebar for easy reference.
Bing’s AI integration is evolving from a mere technical test to something we can trust as much as Microsoft Office.
The company is also working on incorporating context from previous chats into conversations and will add sharing and exporting features soon.
Bing AI as a genuine platform and Edge updates
Microsoft also wants to turn Bing’s AI chat into a bona fide platform and will offer third-party plugins to do things like confirm a reservation via OpenTable or get complex math solutions from Wolfram|Alpha.
However, the company will need to carefully manage these plugins to ensure that they do not access data beyond the conversation in which they are being used.
In addition, the Edge browser will also receive updates to improve the user interface, which will have rounded corners and semi-transparent elements.
Edge’s built-in chat will also be powered by Bing AI in new ways, allowing users to find places to watch a particular movie or chat on Bing directly on top of the websites they’re viewing in Edge mobile apps.
Conclusion
Overall, Microsoft has announced a number of improvements to Bing AI and the Edge browser, signaling a continued commitment to AI and improving the user experience.
It remains to be seen how the company will introduce Bing’s AI chat to general users and how it will manage third-party plugins.