Microsoft is continuing to work on its AI, and they are one of the most advanced generative AI content updated with users through a chat user interface. The chatbot has been updated with new features to enhance functionality, including the ability to make restaurant bookings, provide image results, and more. With the significant update to its Bing Chatbot and improved integration with Microsoft Edge, this is supported in more than 100 languages, breaking the language barrier.
Now it’s available to everyone, and there is no more waitlist since Microsoft Bing Chatbot has been available for testing in private preview since February. You only need a Microsoft account and a new Bing or Edge on your device. There are a series of enhancements to Bing AI Chatbot, and after three months of existence, it is competing against Google and leading as the most advanced AI company on planet Earth.
Microsoft said they have done half a billion chats and created 200 million images since launch, so let’s take a closer look at what Microsoft has brought with the improved version of Microsoft Bing Chat. This also has over 100 million daily active users, creating over 200 million images. The updated version also can detect potentially harmful prompts and blacklist them to keep the chat relatively clean.
Better Bing Interrogation with Microsoft Edge
Bing Chat and Edge are integrated to make things more convenient for users, allowing users to complete tasks without navigating between different websites or applications. They can search for a restaurant in Bing and find recommendations for users to find a reservation time that works for them and complete the booking process directly in the chat interface.
This feature will save time, and regardless of the need to switch between different apps or websites to complete a task, users can play a movie in Bing or request the chatbot to automatically select the correct streaming service and open the site to start playing the movie. Microsoft hasn’t shared the supported streaming platform yet, but for the Action feature, it supports booking an OpenTable for restaurant booking and Apple TV for movie searches.
It also integrates with third-party services, making Bing Chat and Edge more convenient and user-friendly. It is said that Microsoft will make more partners over time for the Action Feature. With the recent update, Microsoft has also updated formatting by adding charts and graphs to make finding more information easier.
class="wp-block-heading">Bing Chat in Microsoft Edge Sidebar
You can use it on your Microsoft Edge and open Bing Chat while surfing the website. You don’t need to open a separate page to use Bing now since you can keep the chat window open while using other applications or clicking on links within the chat. Previously, it used to open a new window and a new tab to view the content, which means you can view the content and interact with Bing simultaneously without switching between different tabs or windows or multitasking and completing multiple tasks simultaneously within the same chat window.
Microsoft is also expanding its Bing Image Creation and launching the Microsoft Designer, which will make generative-AI power available to more users. Edge compose is also improving in the sidebar, with a tone option for generating text that allows users to create more natural and appropriate responses in their conversation with the chatbot.
Bing Chat History
This is one of the most-awaited features. Bing Chatbot has been updated with persistent chat history, which means it can now keep track of previous conversations with users and use that information to provide better assistance in future interactions. The chat history feature also allows the chatbot to remember the previous conversation. This means that users can pick up the conversation where they left off on their desktop, laptop, or mobile device.
Bing Image and Video Response
Finally, Bing can now respond to users’ queries with photos and videos alongside text-based queries. These are not generated by AI; instead, they are directly fetched from the web, just like normal search queries. Additionally, there is a video tutorial or picture to help you with request queries by adding visual enhancements to the response. Stacked images from Bing are used to prioritize the photos and videos on top of the search. On top, there is a filter to prevent explicit images from appearing.
Bing Chat History and Export
As we mentioned, Bing will now keep track of users’ chat history, allowing them to export so that users can request by users, revisit old threads, and pick up where they left off. However, it’s limited to 20 responses in the chat history, by which users can organize and rename their chat threads for easy reference. They can even export their chat history to formats such as Word or PDF, including photos or videos.
Image Upload to Bing Chat
Like Bing Image Search, Bing Chat allows users to upload an image and receive information about it. With this, you can upload an image to Bing Chat and get information like the name, location, or other contextual details. Search for identifying landmarks, plants, or animations in photos. Also, making it easier to find products or items in images by researching and shopping for items they are interested in.
Forcing Outlook and Teams to Open Links in Edge
When users get an answer from Microsoft Edge, it prompts them to open a link from Bing Chat answer in Edge, and Outlook and Teams will now be opened exclusively in the Edge browser only. Since Windows 11, the company has been pushing its users to use Edge and making it harder to use other popular browsers like Chrome or Firefox, but they are now forcing users to open links from Outlook and Teams in Microsoft Edge. This won’t affect the default browser, and this feature will soon be rolling out to Microsoft 365 users.
Plugin Support
Microsoft will introduce third-party developers with plugin support to expand Bing Chat’s capabilities further. Developers can create new functionality and integration directly into Bing Chat, which will make it more powerful, similar to what browser extensions used to make it powerful. The company didn’t share any timeline for when plugin support will be available. OpenAI to developers to integrate with Bing Chat since Microsoft committed to Bing Chat as a more collaborative and innovative platform, whereas other companies keep developing their AI.
To use this, you need a Microsoft account to access the GPT-4 powered version of Bing. Previously, it was limited to several users, but now it’s open to everyone with a Microsoft account.
Microsoft also plans to add video answers, allowing users to receive video responses to their queries. After Public Preview out to Public Preview, there are a lot of improvements to the AI-powered chatbot and make it more accessible to users. The company plans to add export and share on social media platforms or even bring it into a Word document for further analysis or reference.
Microsoft also has plans to bring context support to Bing Chat on Edge Mobile. Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft’s head of consumer marketing, said these new features to Bing Chat are game-changers for the search industry and bring multiple opportunities. Many things will be revealed at Microsoft’s Build during the annual developer conferences, which are scheduled to be done before Google’s annual I/O developer conference.
