Microsoft added AI to its Edge browser and Bing search engine, and it’s powered by the same advanced technology that OpenAI used to create ChatGPT. Even better, you can start using it now.
Although we don’t have a full release yet, Microsoft is opening access to the ChatGPT-powered Bing and Edge versions. Here’s how to be among the first to get access.
How to use the new AI-powered Bing
If you go to bing.com, you’ll see a beautiful photo background and search box just as before, and it might appear as though very little has changed.
If you look carefully, though, you’ll see a Chat button at the top of the page to the left of Images. If you click this button right now, you’ll probably see the message that it isn’t available yet. You have to wait until the new Bing has rolled out.
Don’t worry — you can try it out in advance with some preset samples and sign up for a waiting list to be among the first to experience the full version when it fully rolls out.
To preview the new ChatGPT-powered Bing now, go to bing.com/new in any browser, even on a MacBook, and scroll down to the Ask anything section.
From there, you can click on any of the blue boxes to select a sample question or task. For example, if you choose Write a rhyming poem, the new Bing will preload the AI with a query to write a poem for a kid that likes dogs and the ocean.
From there, you can select from other samples that appear to the left and right, or go back to the blue boxes on the previous page and choose from that list. I clicked a Tweet prompt from the left side to get this tweet announcing a sibling’s graduation.
The sample suggestions change over time, so you can preview many different prompts and responses from the new Bing chat before it’s available to everyone.
How to download the new AI-powered Edge
Microsoft isn’t opening access to its Edge browser quite as wide as it is with Bing, but you can still get an early look at the new browser through Microsoft’s dev channel for Edge.
On the Microsoft Edge Insider page, you can download beta, dev, or canary versions of the browser. Beta versions get a major update previewing new features every four weeks, dev versions get an update every week, and canary versions are updated daily with the latest fixes Microsoft is testing.
Microsoft says a version in the dev channel will release on February 7, but the version we downloaded didn’t include the integration. If you want to be the first to try out the updated version of Edge, though, make sure to stay glued to Microsoft’s Edge Insider page.
How can I get faster access?
Rollouts are impossible to predict with any precision, and Microsoft didn’t even share a guess other than to say Bing chat will “scale the preview to millions in the coming weeks.” The preview is available in a limited form on desktop browsers now. Access will expand over time, bringing the new Bing to smartphones eventually.
Faster access is possible, however, by selecting the big blue button labeled Access the new Bing faster. This will show you some steps that you can take to move up in line.
The requirement is to set Microsoft Edge as your default browser and Bing as the default search. You also need to choose MSN as your homepage, and various other simple but slightly annoying tasks that keep Microsoft apps and services front and center on your desktop.
Is Bing chat the same as ChatGPT?
Microsoft describes the new Bing chat as “a new, next-generation OpenAI large language model” that’s more advanced than ChatGPT. Since the goal is to integrate this with Bing search, there are different considerations.
For example, Bing’s AI is expected to be much faster than ChatGPT while stepping beyond the capabilities of ChatGPT and GPT-3.5 in some ways. Known as the Prometheus model, Microsoft brings current news to its chat for up-to-date results that are still safe for Bing’s large user base.
How will the full version work?
In addition to spending some hands-on time with Bing ourselves, Microsoft shared examples of how it will work, and it looks quite intriguing.
With a Bing sidebar open, you’ll be able to access Bing chat from anywhere, so you can use it as a writing aid on LinkedIn to help create a new post in various styles. In the example, a Microsoft executive wants to create a medium-length paragraph with an enthusiastic tone, “Introducing the new Al-Powered Bing and Edge.”
The ability to quickly switch between different tones, lengths, and styles should speed up common tasks like this. That adds a great incentive to pick Microsoft’s Bing search and Edge browser, perhaps winning some of the massive traffic that Google Search enjoys and gaining some ground on the Chrome browser.
How much does it cost?
So far, there has been no mention of charging for Bing’s new AI features. Microsoft clarified that ads are part of the experience from the start and that it doesn’t have plans to charge a fee as of yet.
Meanwhile, OpenAI recently launched its subscription-based ChatGPT Plus to help offset the high costs of keeping up with the avalanche of new users. If Microsoft’s claim of being even better than ChatGPT proves to be true, it will be remarkable.
Other AI options
There are dozens of AI writing tools on the market now, but the best seem to rely on OpenAI’s ChatGPT or GPT-3. Google didn’t fall asleep at the wheel and is rolling out its Bard AI to Google Search soon. That means the battle for the most accurate, relevant, and current AI-powered search engine is yet to be determined.
Regardless of which company comes out on top, you and I are the winners since that competition to be the best search engine and chat AI will keep prices low, and possibly free, for the foreseeable future.
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