Microsoft to rival Google with new AI-powered Bing search

Microsoft will incorporate artificial intelligence (AI) tools into a new web search browser, the Washington-based company said Tuesday, just one day after rival Google announced its own plans to launch AI-powered features in search tools. 

Microsoft’s AI-powered search will come in the form of a new version of its Bing search engine and will be powered by an updated version of the AI that powers the increasingly popular ChatGPT tool, Microsoft said in a blog post. 

The dual announcements this week set off a race between the two tech companies battling in the consumer-facing AI space. 

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

In the new version of Bing, users will be able to ask questions in their queries and receive “complete answers” before scrolling through results. For “more complex searches,” the new version of Bing will also offer an interactive chat feature. It will allow users to ask for more “details, clarity and ideas,” Microsoft said in the blog post. 

The updated Bing will also generate content for users, such as helping a user write an email or create an itinerary for a vacation. The feature will “cite all its sources” to see where on the web the content it’s referencing comes from, according to the company. 

Microsoft’s latest jump on an AI feature follows its multibillion-dollar investment into OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, announced last month. 

Google on Monday unveiled its own new AI tool called Bard, a rival product to ChatGPT. In addition to Bard, Google CEO Sundar Pichai said the company is looking to introduce more AI-powered tools across its search function.