Microsoft has unveiled new versions of its web search engine “Bing” and browser “Edge”, powered by the latest technology from the maker of “ChatGPT”, “OpenAI”, aiming to gain ground against the online search giant of Google; being the first to offer a more interactive alternative to finding answers online and creating content.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said at an event on Tuesday, at the company’s headquarters in Redmond, Washington:
“This technology is going to reshape almost every software category.”
“It’s time to bring innovation back to web search.”
he said.
The new “Bing” —which runs on an “OpenAI” language model, which is more advanced than the one behind “ChatGPT”— can switch in and out of chat mode, and users can press the “bot” to compose emails. The new “Edge” browser adds “AI”-based “Bing” for chat and text writing and can summarize web pages and answer queries.
Microsoft recently announced a multibillion-dollar investment in “OpenAI”, cementing its ties with the startup to gain access to “AI” models such as “ChatGPT” and “Dall-E”, which have attracted millions of users within a few months. Beyond search, Microsoft executives have said they want to add “OpenAI” technology to “Office” productivity software, security programs and video game tools.
“Bing”‘s new search query box can accept up to 1,000 characters. In a demonstration, Microsoft vice president Yusuf Mehdi asked the conversation-based machine about events in Scottsdale, Arizona, during this weekend’s “Super Bowl”. The new “Bing” returned information about a “Super Bowl” week party, a culinary event and other related events. The upgraded service can also estimate whether a favorite Ikea seat will fit in a 2019 Honda Odyssey; “Bing” told Mehdi that it’s not certain, and that it depends on whether the second and third rows of the vehicle are folded.
A flurry of product announcements from Microsoft and Google in recent weeks comes amid a sudden sharp focus on artificial intelligence, which can generate new content from digital volumes of text, photos and art. Last week Microsoft introduced a customer management program that uses “OpenAI” text generation tools to compose emails for salespeople and enhanced its “premium” category of chat and meeting software “Teams” with notes written by artificial intelligence after the meeting.
Google —whose search engine commands nearly 90% of the market— uses artificial intelligence, but it’s based on an older language model. In terms of competition, Google’s long dominance has meant that the market has become rigid, with “Bing” and other new entrants unable to make significant inroads.
In recent months, the once mighty Google has lost its momentum and is overshadowed by “OpenAI”. In December, Google employees asked CEO Sundar Pichai and head of “AI” research Jeff Dean about “ChatGPT” competition. According to CNBC, executives responded that unlike startups —which can quickly release new tools to the public— Google faces huge reputational risk from any mistakes or errors because it already has billions of users.
The success of “ChatGPT” and Microsoft’s increased investment in its developer appear to have accelerated Pichai’s timeline. Google management mobilized teams of researchers to respond to “ChatGPT”, declaring the situation a code red threat.
On Monday, Google said that its own interactive artificial intelligence service “Bard” is opening up to trusted testers and that the company is readying the service for the public in the coming weeks. “Bard” aims to produce detailed answers when asked simple questions, such as what to make for lunch or how to plan a friend’s baby shower, Google said. The service is based on “LaMDA”, Google’s “Language Model for Dialogue Applications” system.
Finally, according to a person familiar with the matter, once Microsoft has aligned itself with “OpenAI”, Google is investing nearly $400 million in “AI” startup “Anthropic”, which is testing a rival to “ChatGPT” called “Claude”.
Moneyreview.gr with information from CNBC.
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