Microsoft Debuts Bing With OpenAI Chat to Challenge Google

Microsoft unveiled a new version of Bing and the Edge browser on Tuesday, integrating a conversational assistant based on OpenAI technology. The move aims to change an established habit: typing keywords, opening multiple links and piecing together the answer for yourself.

The new Bing does not completely replace conventional search. Microsoft presents it as a second layer: users can still view a standard results page, but they can also ask AI to synthesize information, compare options or prepare a more detailed response. The development matters because it brings generative AI to one of the world’s most widely used digital services: web search.

A search engine that answers questions and shows its sources

The chat feature lets users ask questions in natural language and continue a conversation to refine their request. In Microsoft’s demonstration, Bing could plan a trip, compare televisions or summarize the pros and cons of different products.

The difference from ChatGPT lies in access to information on the web and the presentation of references. Bing’s answers include links to the pages used, an essential feature in a search engine: the tool must not only produce a convincing answer, but also allow readers to verify it.

Microsoft calls the system that combines an OpenAI language model with its search index and results-ranking system Prometheus. A language model is a program trained on large amounts of text to predict and generate words; on its own, it can produce a fluent answer, but it cannot guarantee that the answer is current or accurate. Connecting the model to the search engine is intended to reduce that problem, though it does not eliminate it.

The company says the model in use is a new generation developed by OpenAI, more powerful than the one that powered ChatGPT at its public launch. Microsoft has not identified the model by a commercial name or disclosed its technical details.

Edge turns browsing into a conversation

The overhaul also extends to Edge. The browser adds a sidebar with two modes: Chat, for asking questions about what the user is reading, and Compose, for drafting text with a specified length and tone.

In practice, this could mean asking for a summary of a report open in the browser or requesting an email draft based on a webpage. It is a significant shift because it moves AI from a separate window into the specific task at hand.

Microsoft initially opened the new Bing in a limited preview for desktop computers. Some searches already return full conversational answers; to try longer conversations, users must join a waitlist. The company said it would expand access gradually, including to mobile devices, as it extends the preview to more users.

The first major offensive since ChatGPT’s success

The announcement comes less than three months after OpenAI released ChatGPT and demonstrated how strongly a chatbot could attract the general public. Microsoft has maintained a close partnership with OpenAI since 2019 and announced a new multiyear, multibillion-dollar investment in the company last January.

The commercial opportunity is clear. Google dominates the global search market, while Bing starts from a far smaller share. According to StatCounter, Bing accounted for around 3% of the global search-engine market in January 2023, compared with Google’s share of nearly 93%. For Microsoft, even a small shift in that balance would have strategic and advertising value.

Google responded yesterday by announcing Bard, a conversational service based on its LaMDA model that it plans to make available to testers ahead of a broader public launch. The competition is no longer limited to offering more relevant links; it is now about who controls the interface through which millions of people will ask the internet questions.

The challenge: useful answers without turning errors into certainties

Bing’s experience shows a clear advantage for queries that require information to be gathered from multiple sources. But it also highlights a familiar risk of generative models: they can state false information in highly confident prose. Links make it easier to check an answer, but they do not replace that review, especially for medical, financial, legal or current-affairs topics.

The economic fit of this format also remains unresolved. A list of links sends traffic to many media outlets and retailers; a synthesized answer may mean users need to open fewer pages. Microsoft will have to show that it can provide direct answers without stripping value from the sites that sustain the web’s open ecosystem.

For now, the launch puts AI-powered search at the center of the battle for consumer products and makes two questions worth watching: whether quality holds up under real-world queries and whether Google responds quickly enough to a threat that seemed unlikely until recently.