Microsoft has introduced AI-generated answers to its Bing search engine, taking a cue from Google’s AI overview. Starting July 25, “a small percentage of user queries” will get custom-made answers to queries typed into the search bar.
“Billions of users rely on Bing to find information, answer questions, and explore their curiosity,” Microsoft wrote in a report. Bing Blog Posts on Thursday.
How does Bing generative search work?
Answers generated by Bing AI will appear at the top of search results for certain queries and include sources that users can click on to easily confirm the answer or learn more about it. Standard search results will appear in a column next to the AI-generated answer. Microsoft said the goal is to surface the answer a user is looking for more quickly.
Last year, Microsoft ChatGPT-powered search and chat In Bing.
“We’ve refined our methods for optimizing accuracy in Bing, and applied those insights to evolve the use of LLM in Search,” Microsoft wrote in a Bing blog post.
The Seattle giant hasn’t revealed which AI models power Bing search, saying only that it uses both small and large language models.
Adding AI will bring Bing’s capabilities closer to Google Search
I’ve spoken to many people who have switched from Google search to Bing specifically to avoid AI-generated answers. Microsoft should learn from this Co-pilot and recalls, which raised privacy concerns and, in the case of Memorizationwas delayed. On the other hand, the inclusion of generative AI in software products seems inevitable in 2024.
See: Meta’s recent revelation Llama 3.1Its most advertisingNo major language model has been developed yet.
For businesses that rely partially on web clicks, Microsoft assures that “early data shows this experience maintains the number of clicks on websites and supports a healthy web ecosystem.”
The idea is that users will still interact with traditional search results, while Bing AI search results are “increasing the number of clickable links, such as context in the results,” Microsoft wrote.
It’s too early to say if this will be true or not. Microsoft may be trying to copy Google, which has an 81.95% share of the desktop search market as of January 2024. According to StatistaBing ranks middle with 10.51%, while Yahoo ranks second with 2.67%.
