Microsoft Corporation disclosed ambitions to boost its underutilized online search and browsing services with new technologies from startup OpenAI, trying to gain ground on market leader Google by offering conversational responses driven by artificial intelligence first.
Microsoft introduced a new version of its Bing search engine and Edge web browser that combines technology from OpenAI, the creator of the popular chatbot ChatGPT, to make it easier for people to create content and access information on the web.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella stated at an event held Tuesday at the company’s headquarters in Redmond, Washington, that this technology will revolutionize virtually every software category. He believes that it is “prime time” for innovation to return to internet search.
The new Bing, which operates on an OpenAI language model that is more powerful than ChatGPT, can be toggled in and out of chat mode, and users can tap the bot to compose emails. The new Edge browser features the artificial intelligence-powered Bing for chat and writing text, as well as the capacity to summarise online pages and react to queries conversationally. The responses provide citations for their sources, allowing users to determine where the information originated.
Microsoft and Google have made a flurry of product announcements in recent weeks, coinciding with a sudden, intense focus on generative artificial intelligence, which can generate new material from digital troves of text, photographs, and art. Microsoft introduced this week a customer-management program that employs OpenAI text-generation capabilities to compose emails for salespeople and AI-written post-meeting notes in the premium version of its Teams chat and meeting software.
Microsoft recently made a multibillion-dollar investment in OpenAI, expanding its links with the firm to acquire early access to its artificial intelligence models, such as ChatGPT and Dall-E, which have garnered millions of users in a matter of months. Microsoft executives have claimed that they plan to integrate OpenAI’s technology into Office productivity applications, security software, and video game technologies, in addition to search.
In the new Bing search query window, up to 1,000 characters may be input. Microsoft Vice President Yusuf Mehdi showed the chat-based engine by inquiring about Super Bowl weekend festivities in Scottsdale, Arizona. The new Bing produced results for Super Bowl week parties, gourmet events, and further events. The upgraded service can also estimate whether an Ikea loveseat will fit in a 2019 Honda Odyssey – Bing is unsure, and it relies on whether the second and third rows of the car are folded down.
In response to a request for an egg substitute in a recipe, Bing supplied five possibilities along with the equivalent quantities of each. In addition, the qualities of each alternative were discussed, such as which will make the recipe airier.
According to Microsoft, the updated version of Bing is now ready for testing with a restricted amount of searches. People can also join up for a queue for complete access, which Mehdi hopes to expand to millions within the next few weeks. It also intends to incorporate AI search capabilities into competing web browsers.
Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, talked during the event about the company’s partnership with Microsoft. “We are extremely thankful to have a partner who shares our goal and ideals of building safe, advanced AI that will have a big positive influence on society,” he said.
Alphabet Inc.’s Google, whose search engine has a market share of roughly 90 percent, utilizes AI but an older language model. Google’s long-standing dominance has resulted in a stagnant market, with Bing and other upstarts unable to make substantial advances. While several components of the basic page design and functionalities of the major search engines have evolved, the format for search results has remained the same: a list of links.
ChatGPT and other generative AI search technologies aim to change this by substituting conversational, contextual responses for links that may or may not answer a user’s question. Depending on how results are presented, consumers may not be able to determine the source or reliability of information offered by a service as a definite answer, which is a danger associated with this growing technique.
Read More: The US Is Sending NASAMS To Ukraine
Stay Connected!
