Bing from Microsoft has been struggling for years to establish itself among the search engines. But the company’s recent dip in AI is breathing new life into it with its Bing Chat feature. Often referred to as Bing ChatGPT, the new Bing is actually quite different from its more popular competitor. It uses GPT-4 and functions as an AI-powered search engine in a conversational format.
Unlike ChatGPT, the new Bing has access to the internet, which allows it to provide more up-to-date answers. But according to OpenAI’s recent announcement (from March 23, 2023), ChatGPT, trained at the time of its launch only on data up to the year 2021, should also soon be able to access the Internet, thanks to plugins, and therefore provide answers related to more current events and knowledge.
How to use the new Bing
Image: Maria Diaz/ZDNET.
What you need: To start using the new Bing, you need to use Microsoft Edge and sign in to a Microsoft account. When you access Microsoft Bing, you can choose to use the search or conversation format.
1. Open (or download) Edge and go to Bing
Open the Microsoft Edge web browser to access Bing. If you don’t have it, you can download it for Windows, Mac and Linux here. It is also available on mobile for Android and iOS.
Once Edge is open, go to Bing.fr and click on Conversation at the top of the screen, or on To try Or Learn more just below the search bar.
On the Bing website, the “Conversation” option is at the top left. Image: Maria Diaz/ZDNET.
2. Sign in to your Microsoft account
If you’re not signed in to your account, you’ll be prompted to do so when you try Bing in conversation mode. A Microsoft account can be that ofoutlook.com, hotmail.comor those of other Microsoft services such as Office, OneDrivee or Xbox.
But know that you can create an account using any email address, including Gmail and Yahoo!
Image: Maria Diaz/ZDNET.
3. Choose conversation
In the search options below the search bar, click Chat to access the new AI-powered Bing Chat.
Whenever you search on Bing, you can jump to conversation by clicking on it below the search bar. Image: Maria Diaz/ZDNET.
4. Check out Bing Chat
Bing Chat, Microsoft’s AI-powered chatbot, is a bit different from the most popular chatbot around, ChatGPT. Although you ask questions the same way, the answer format and conversation style are different. Here’s what you can do using Bing Chat:
- Text zone : the bottom of the screen has a text box where you can enter your questions for Bing Chat.
- New topic: when you click New sectionBing deletes the previous conversation and prompts you to switch to a new conversation.
- Sources: Bing operates as an AI-powered conversational search engine, and while it doesn’t give you answers in list form like a search engine would, it does collect most of its answers from the web. When you get a question answered, Bing also lists the sources in links below the message bubble.
- Suggested questions: when you get a response from Microsoft Bing, it generates suggested questions to further the conversation. For example, if you ask Bing “What color is the sky?”, it might suggest the following questions: “Is the sky blue on other planets?” or “How does pollution affect the color of the sky?”.
- Search or chat: at the top left of the screen, you have the possibility to switch between the traditional search results and the chatbot; just click on either one to switch.
- Talking style: Bing Chat offers three response formats: more creative, More balanced And More precise. By choosing “More creative”, you will get original and imaginative answers; “More Balanced” is similar in tone to ChatGPT, an informative and friendly chat; and “More specific” will give you concise and direct answers.
- Quick Response Counter: when Bing responds to a query in a conversation, a number is displayed to help you count the number of responses received. The number of replies per conversation is limited to a maximum of 15.
- Comments button: As you swipe the screen, you’ll quickly notice a Feedback button in the lower right corner of the chat window. It allows users to provide feedback to Microsoft Bing, with the option to include a screenshot.
- Microsoft account : your account information can be accessed at the top right of the screen.
You can see that Bing offers a lot of different options to optimize the conversation. Image: Maria Diaz/ZDNET.
5. Start writing
At this point, you can start writing your messages and questions in the text box of the chat window and press the “Enter” key to submit them.
It’s time to ask Bing anything you want to know. Image: Maria Diaz/ZDNET.
Maria Diaz/ZDNET
FAQs (FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS)
How is Bing Chat different from a search engine?
The biggest difference between Bing Chat and other AI chatbots and a search engine is the conversational tone of the search results. Smart formatting of search results in response to a specific question makes it easier for anyone looking to find something on the internet.
Beyond the capabilities of search engines, Bing Chat is a full-fledged AI chatbot and can do a lot of things others can do, like ChatGPT. Now you can use Microsoft Bing to generate text like an essay or write poems, write code like ZDNET did with ChatGPT, ask it complex questions, and hold a conversation with follow-up questions.
Does Bing use ChatGPT?
Bing does not use ChatGPT, but it does use GPT-4 to formulate its responses, except for the visual input feature. The new Bing is the only way to use GPT-4 for free right now, and Microsoft says integration with the latest language model makes Bing more powerful and accurate than ChatGPT.
Many users prefer one or the other: in my experience, I’ve noticed that Bing Chat can sometimes be a bit slow to respond or miss certain queries, but this is usually remedied by asking a follow-up question such as “Have you been looking for that? That being said, I find the new Bing gives users more control over their experience and a more intuitive interface.
The OpenAI language model version GPT 3.5 is the engine of ChatGPT. When GPT-4 becomes widely available through an updated version of ChatGPT, it will be through a subscription at OpenAI, ChatGPT Plus, which costs $20 per month.
Is there a Bing image creator?
Microsoft just announced an image creator from Microsoft Bing. Once again, Microsoft uses OpenAI technology, Microsoft uses DALL-E, an image generator with artificial intelligence. It’s more of a tool for Microsoft Edge integrated with Bing. Indeed, users can ask Bing to create images within an existing chat, rather than going to a separate website.
Does Bing Chat give wrong answers?
Like ChatGPT and other major language models, the new AI-powered Bing Chat is prone to providing misinformation. Most of the answers offered by the new Bing come from online sources, and we already know that we can’t believe everything we read on the Internet. Likewise, when you use the new Bing in conversation mode, it can generate absurd answers, hallucinations, which have nothing to do with the initial question.
Is Bing Chat free?
Bing Chat is not only free, it’s also the best way to test GPT-4 for free right now. You can use the new Bing to ask questions, get help with a problem, or seek inspiration, but you’re limited to 15 questions per interaction and 150 conversations per day.
Are my conversations with Bing Chat backed up?
By default, Microsoft clears your conversations when you click the New Topic button, so your conversations aren’t backed up beyond the duration of each one. However, search history is saved to your account, depending on your settings.
Is there a waiting list for the new Bing?
As of this writing, if Edge users log into their account, they should be able to immediately access Microsoft’s new AI-powered Bing.
Can you use the new Bing on mobile?
If you have the Edge browser installed on your mobile device, you can use the new AI-powered Bing search in conversation mode, just like you would on your computer. You can also skip the Edge browser and download the Microsoft Bing app from your device’s app store. This application allows direct access to the Bing AI chatbot, with the advantage of not having to access a website when you want to use it.
Both the Microsoft Bing app and the Edge browser support voice dictation on mobile, so you can ask your questions without even typing them.
Source: ZDNet.com