Microsoft, as OpenAI’s largest investor, has announced the integration of its Bing search engine into ChatGPT, an AI-powered chatbot, at a developer conference in Seattle.
In March, OpenAI introduced an “experimental model” in ChatGPT that could browse the internet for up-to-date information. While the model initially relied on Bing, this collaboration was not disclosed at the time.
The Bing feature will be initially available only to subscribers of ChatGPT Plus, a premium-tier service launched in February at a cost of $20 per month. After that, however, the integration is expected to extend to the free version of the chatbot, which currently relies on data from before September 2021.
Microsoft’s integration of AI into Bing has contributed to a 16% increase in traffic to the search engine, which has historically faced challenges in competing with Google. In response, Google recently unveiled its plan to incorporate generative AI into its search engine, the Search Generative Experience (SGE). This new feature replaces the traditional blue links with a concise text summary of the answer to a user’s query, similar to the response format offered by ChatGPT.
The close partnership between Microsoft and OpenAI includes a significant investment of $10 billion by Microsoft in OpenAI. This builds upon previous investments made in 2019 and 2021, with the aim of establishing Microsoft’s Azure as the exclusive provider of cloud computing services to OpenAI. This collaboration has resulted in the development of AI copilots, leveraging OpenAI’s GPT-4 technology. These copilots assist users in performing tasks within Microsoft applications such as Bing and Office.
As AI technologies continue to advance, the competition between Microsoft, Google, and other tech giants intensifies. Microsoft’s investment in OpenAI and the development of AI copilots demonstrate their commitment to integrating AI across various applications and services.
The future of search and productivity tools is being shaped by these advancements, prompting industry leaders to adapt and innovate to stay ahead in the AI race.