Microsoft may launch Bing version with ChatGPT integration: Report

Microsoft Corp. is planning to launch a version of its search engine Bing using the technology behind the artificial intelligence (AI)-powered ChatGPT, according to an article in The Information that cited unnamed sources. As per the report, Microsoft may launch a new version of Bing with ChatGPT integration before end March. 

If the report turns out to be true, it would mean that the new version of Bing could provide more humanlike answers to questions instead of mere links to information. Both Google and Bing provide relevant information from links at the top of many search queries, and with Google’s Knowledge Graph--a knowledge base the tech company uses to dish up instant answers that are regularly updated from crawling the web and user feedback. 

According to the report, Microsoft and OpenAI have worked on this integration for several years. In 2019, Microsoft invested $1 billion into OpenAI and entered a partnership with the AI research company. 

To be sure, Microsoft has already piloted OpenAI’s Dall-E 2, an AI system that can create realistic images and art from a description in natural language, into Bing Image Creator. Both of these features may help Bing compete with Google. 

ChatGPT brought conversational AI to the mainstream in November 2022 enabling users to write poems, college essays, and even code. But the system does have flaws including a tendency to present incorrect information as true facts. Even OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has cautioned that “it’s a mistake to be relying on ChatGPT for anything important right now.”     

While ChatGPT could help Bing challenge Google’s dominance, Google’s senior vice president of Research Jeff Dean told CNBC in December 2022 that the company has much more “reputational risk” in providing wrong information and thus is moving “more conservatively than a small startup”. Google reportedly cited bias and factuality issues with existing AI chatbots as a reason it’s not ready to replace search just yet. Google has been using various large AI language models to improve its search engine subtly for years, though.   

Billions of people across the globe use Google’s search engine, while ChatGPT crossed the 1 million user mark in early December 2022.