#ICYMI: Microsoft launches AI-powered Bing, Edge

Microsoft has launched an improved version of its Bing search engine and Edge browser, now powered with AI technology.

Courtesy: Microsoft

The new, AI-powered Bing, Edge

Image from Microsoft

In a post on February 7, Microsoft said it launched the "AI-powered Bing search engine and Edge browser, available in preview now at Bing.com, to deliver better search, more complete answers, a new chat experience and the ability to generate content."

AI will fundamentally change every software category, starting with the largest category of all – search, said Satya Nadella, Microsoft chairman and CEO. Today, we’re launching Bing and Edge powered by AI copilot and chat, to help people get more from search and the web.

Microsoft said that through this improved system, its users will experience the following:

• The improved Bing provides more relevant results for simple things like sports scores, stock prices, and weather. There is also a new sidebar that shows more comprehensive answers for users.
• Users can obtain complete answers since Bing reviews results from across the web to find and summarize the answer a user is looking for.
• The new Bing also has an interactive chat that refines one's search by asking for more details, clarity, and ideas until one gets the complete answer he or she is looking for.
• The enhanced Bing can also help in creating content like an email, or a 5-day itinerary for a vacation, as well as help in preparing for a job interview, or creating a quiz for trivia night. It also cites all its sources, so users are able to access the web content it references.
• The new Microsoft Edge browser also has AI capabilities and two new functionalities: Chat and compose. Through the Edge Sidebar, users can ask for a summary of lengthy reports through the Edge Sidebar.

Microsoft noted this new Bing experience is a culmination of the following:

• Next-generation OpenAI model which "is more powerful than ChatGPT and customized specifically for search. It takes key learnings and advancements from ChatGPT and GPT-3.5–and it is even faster, more accurate, and more capable."
• Microsoft Prometheus model which gives more relevant, timely, and targeted results, with improved safety.
• Application of AI to core Bing search ranking engine, which led to the largest jump in relevance in two decades.
• Creation of a unified experience through the re-imagination of how users interact with search, browser, and chat.

These groundbreaking new search experiences are possible because Microsoft has committed to building Azure into an AI supercomputer for the world, and OpenAI has used this infrastructure to train the breakthrough models that are now being optimized for Bing, Microsoft said.

Meanwhile, Microsoft is also working with OpenAI to implement safeguards against harmful content, like misinformation and disinformation, content blocking, data safety, and preventing the promotion of harmful or discriminatory content in line with our AI principles.

The new Bing is currently available in a limited preview on desktop via Bing.com.

We're going to scale the preview to millions in the coming weeks. A mobile experience will also be in preview soon, Microsoft said.

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