in

How to Use Bing AI with ChatGPT (and Why)

default image

Welcome, my friend, to the brave new world of AI-powered search! I‘m so excited to be your guide as we explore how Bing‘s new search engine, powered byChatGPT, will completely transform how we find and interact with information online.

As a technology geek and data analyst myself, I‘ve been geeking out hard over this new development. I think AI is the most monumental innovation of our time, and what Microsoft has built truly feels like a glimpse into the future. So strap in, and let‘s get ready for the search engine rollercoaster ride of a lifetime!

ChatGPT – The AI Powering It All

But first, we need to understand the incredible artificial intelligence system behind Bing‘s new search capabilities. That system is ChatGPT, created by the company OpenAI.

ChatGPT launched only a few months ago in November 2022, and it immediately took the world by storm. Here‘s a quick overview of what makes it so special:

  • It uses a cutting-edge AI technique called large language models that allows it to generate remarkably human-like text on any topic.

  • The AI is designed to be helpful, harmless, and honest through careful training and optimization by OpenAI.

  • It can answer follow-up questions, admit mistakes, challenge incorrect premises, and reject inappropriate requests. Very few AI systems have this kind of conversational ability!

  • The capabilities are extremely impressive, but it‘s important to note that ChatGPT does have clear limitations. Its knowledge cutoff is 2021, it can make up convincing-sounding but false information, and it lacks deeper reasoning skills.

  • There are free and paid subscription options. The free version has usage limits, while the paid Pro version provides higher limits, faster response times, and priority access.

In my personal testing, I‘m blown away by how natural ChatGPT feels to chat with. The AI really does emulate human conversation better than any system I‘ve ever seen before. Of course, it‘s not perfect – there‘s still plenty of room for improvement. But to me, it‘s clear that ChatGPT represents a paradigm shift in AI capabilities, even if the technology is still evolving.

Now let‘s see how Microsoft is leveraging this powerhouse of natural language processing to completely overhaul its search engine!

Welcoming the New Bing AI Search Engine

In February 2023, after investing billions into OpenAI, Microsoft took the wraps off a dramatically revamped Bing infused with the conversational powers of ChatGPT. As a tech geek, I have to say, I got hyped the moment I saw the announcement!

Microsoft is positioning this new Bing as an "AI copilot for the web" that aims to provide conversational, contextual search experiences instead of just a list of blue links. Ambitious!

As my friend, let me walk you through the key ways Bing is using ChatGPT-level AI to transform search:

  • Conversational search results – For supported queries, Bing now provides an actual chat response summarizing key information it pulled from the web. It really feels like getting help from an expert research assistant!

  • Natural followup questions – The chat interface allows you to keep asking followup questions to go deeper on a topic, with Bing providing relevant answers in a conversational flow.

  • Customized response modes – Bing offers toggles like "Chat", "Focus", and "Precision mode" to tailor responses to your needs, though I haven‘t noticed huge differences so far.

  • Citations and references – Bing aims to provide sources for facts and quotes used in its summarized responses. Transparency is so important for trustworthy AI.

  • Dynamic interactive features – Based on the query, Bing can generate quizzes, compare products, summarize long text, simplify complex questions, and more!

Now, it‘s true that ChatGPT itself is powering a lot of this behind the scenes. But Microsoft seems to have done extensive work to customize the AI capabilities specifically for search and web comprehension.

Early reviews are glowing, with some saying this is the beginning of the end for Google! That remains to be seen, but as a technology enthusiast, I‘m extremely impressed with what Microsoft has built. It feels like the future, today!

Accessing the New Bing AI Search Engine

I‘m sure you‘re eager to start experiencing the magic of Bing‘s new AI search for yourself. Here are the key ways you can access it right now:

Use Microsoft Edge – To fully unlock Bing‘s conversational search, you‘ll definitely want to use the Microsoft Edge browser. Simply navigate to www.bing.com, and you‘re good to go!

Other browsers – You can still access some of the new Bing in Chrome, Firefox, or Safari, but the chat features will be more limited unfortunately. Edge is really a must.

Bing web app – Microsoft launched a preview of the new Bing as a standalone web app at www.bing.com/new. This gives you full chat search without any browser required. Handy!

Limited preview – As of February 2023, access is still being gradually rolled out. You can sign up on Bing.com to get notified when expanded access is available in your region.

For now, the new Bing is only fully available in certain countries like the US, but Microsoft plans to expand globally in the coming months. I highly recommend jumping in soon if you can – it‘s truly an experience every tech enthusiast should have!

Alright, you have access to the new Bing – now let‘s make sure you‘re using it like a pro! Here are my top tips and tricks as a seasoned tech geek:

  • Ask naturally – Phrase queries conversationally, as you would with an expert friend. Complete sentences work better than just keywords.

  • Look for the chat icon – Watch for the chat icon to see when Bing provides an AI conversation response. Click it to expand the chat window.

  • Follow up, follow up! – Don‘t stop at the first answer! Ask clarifying followups to go deeper. This is where the magic happens.

  • Try the different modes – Toggle between Chat, Focus and Precision modes to customize Bing‘s response style. I like Focus mode for learning.

  • Check those citations – It‘s important we verify where Bing‘s info comes from. Scroll down to the citations and click the links.

  • Give feedback – Use the thumbs up/down to steer Bing‘s AI – it helps improve results for you and everyone.

  • Sign in for more – Make a Microsoft account to unlock longer conversations with more context retained between queries.

  • Open images/code snippets – Generated images, code, and diagrams can be clicked to open larger or copy them – handy!

  • Correct mistakes – If Bing says something wrong or nonsensical, let it know. This continuous feedback helps the AI get smarter.

I‘m still learning how to best leverage Bing‘s new capabilities each day. But using these tips will help you get way more value out of the world‘s most advanced AI search engine!

How Bing AI Differs from ChatGPT

With Microsoft leveraging OpenAI‘s technology, you may be wondering – how exactly does Bing AI differ from ChatGPT itself?

It‘s true that they share the same GPT-4 foundation and conversational powers. But as a tech analyst, I see some notable differences:

  • Purpose-built – Bing‘s AI is customized for search, while ChatGPT is general-purpose. Those distinct tunings impact results.

  • Real-time web data – Bing AI can pull from live web pages and news to make responses more current. ChatGPT is limited to its 2021 training dataset.

  • User memory – Bing maintains consistent identity and memory between queries in a session. ChatGPT starts fresh with each user input.

  • Free access – Bing AI is available for free to anyone. ChatGPT has usage limits and paid subscription models.

  • Moderation – Bing aims to filter out toxic language, dangerous advice, and clear misinformation. ChatGPT currently has fewer restrictions.

  • Advertising – As a search engine, Bing incorporates ads. ChatGPT does not serve any advertising (for now).

The key takeaway is that Bing AI brings together the conversational powers we see with ChatGPT and combines them with capabilities uniquely designed for search. The ability to pull current real-world information from the web makes it more powerful and relevant, in my opinion.

But both technologies still have progress to make. Overall, I see Bing AI as an extremely promising evolution of web search through the integration of cutting-edge natural language AI. Exciting times!

Creative Use Cases for Bing AI

Here‘s a cool aspect about Bing AI that most people don‘t realize – it can do way more than just straightforward search queries!

The conversational nature combined with the broad capabilities of ChatGPT-level AI means Bing can understand and generate all kinds of unique content:

Summarize articles or documents – Have Bing analyze online articles or uploaded documents and provide a concise summary highlighting the key points.

Compare products or services – Thinking of buying something? Ask Bing to compare the pros, cons, features and pricing of products like vacuums, TVs, credit cards, software, etc. in an easy-to-read table.

Generate creative ideas – Give Bing a general topic and it will suggest related headlines, names, slogan ideas, and other creative brainstorming prompts to build off.

Write draft content – Ask Bing to write a draft blog post, essay, story, or other text on a topic you specify. You can post-edit or use as inspiration.

Answer nuanced questions – Bing excels at handling complex questions with lots of context and nuance, delivering insightful answers a keyword search would miss.

Create interactive quizzes – Bing can generate fun mini quizzes and flashcards on any topic you want to learn about in an engaging question and answer format.

Explain complex concepts – Have Bing walk you through and simplify tricky technical, scientific, or abstract topics by providing easy-to-understand explanations with examples.

I‘ve barely scratched the surface of Bing‘s creative potential thanks to the underlying ChatGPT foundations. With thoughtful prompts and further conversation, you can get AI-powered assistance on all kinds of tasks – from content creation to task automation to enriching your knowledge. The possibilities are almost endless!

Current Limitations and Risks of Bing AI

As amazing as Bing‘s new AI capabilities are, it‘s crucial we go into this with eyes wide open about the current limitations and potential downsides:

  • Inaccuracies – The AI will sometimes return responses that are nonsensical, factually incorrect, or missing key context. Verifying information is crucial.

  • Bias – All AI models absorb some level of human bias through training data. Problematic responses may occur unexpectedly.

  • Citation issues – Bing can struggle with properly attributing quotes and statistics at times. Checking sources helps.

  • Security risks – The potential generation of spam, scams, harassment, misinformation, and other harmful content needs to be monitored.

  • Job disruption – The rise of AI could significantly disrupt many human information worker roles and livelihoods over time. The societal impacts need consideration.

  • Walled garden – If successful, Microsoft may eventually make Bing‘s full AI capabilities exclusive to paying subscribers. That would be a shame.

  • Environmental impact – The computing power required to run these huge AI models contributes significantly to energy usage and carbon emissions. Efficiency improvements are needed.

The bottom line is we must remain judiciously skeptical, and demand transparency, ethics, and oversight as AI like this continues to rapidly evolve. But I‘m optimistic with the right implementation, this technology can do far more good than harm. Onwards and upwards!

The Future of Search with Bing AI

Bing‘s new AI gives us an exciting preview into how web search may be transformed in the future. As a forecasting technologist, here are my predictions for how search could evolve as this AI progresses:

  • Fully conversational – Text-based search boxes will shift to voice-enabled AI assistants that feel more natural and intuitive. It will be like having an expert researcher at your beck and call.

  • Hyper-personalized – Search engines will understand individual users‘ contexts, preferences, and goals to deliver results catered specifically to you and what you need in the moment. Search sessions will feel bespoke.

  • Multimodal experiences – Voice, images, AR objects, and video will blend together into immersive multisensory search experiences far beyond typing keywords into boxes. Search will engage more of our senses.

  • Creativity unlocked – With the ability to understand intent and context, and generate ideas/content with AI, search becomes far more than just retrieving information. It becomes a launchpad for harnessing AI to create, learn, and problem solve.

  • Dead ends eliminated – Search AI will become so advanced at inferring intent and reformulating queries that fruitless searches returning no results will be rare experiences. Every search will provide some value.

  • Verifiability built-in – Blockchain, verified knowledge graphs, and transparency around AI decision-making will help address misinformation concerns. Reliability and trust will increase.

Will all of these predictions come 100% true in the next 5 years? Unlikely – technological change rarely follows a straight line. But I firmly believe AI search is a genie that won‘t go back in the bottle. The trajectory is clear, and I for one am excited to see where it goes!

In Closing: Should You Use Bing AI?

We‘ve covered a ton of ground exploring Bing‘s new AI capabilities. So, should you actually start using it as part of your everyday online life?

In my personal opinion as a knowledgeable technology specialist: yes, absolutely!

While you should maintain a healthy skepticism and verify any facts it provides, Bing AI represents a huge leap forward in utility and convenience for an average internet user like you. And it‘s free! The new interactive search experience can save you time and effort while uncovering insights a traditional search would miss.

That said, it is still an early stage technology. Where ChatGPT excels at general conversation, Bing AI has room for improvement on retrieving complete, fully accurate information. And it may encourage laziness if you come to rely on it too much!

My advice is to incorporate Bing AI as a tool that augments (but doesn‘t replace) your critical thinking skills. Lean on it for convenience but double check the facts. Provide feedback to Microsoft to improve the technology over time. Used judiciously, it could provide tremendous value.

The bottom line in my expert opinion: if you‘re technologically curious, try Bing‘s AI for yourself! We‘re on the precipice of an exciting new era. AI-powered search still requires diligence, but used responsibly, I believe this technology has immense potential to enhance knowledge, creativity, and efficiency on an individual and societal scale. And that future starts now with Bing.

Let me know if you have any other thoughts or questions! I‘m always happy to chat more about the power (and risks) of artificial intelligence. Now go explore, have fun with it, and remember – trust, but verify. The future is in your hands!

AlexisKestler

Written by Alexis Kestler

A female web designer and programmer - Now is a 36-year IT professional with over 15 years of experience living in NorCal. I enjoy keeping my feet wet in the world of technology through reading, working, and researching topics that pique my interest.