Microsoft and OpenAI have collaborated to blur the lines between their respective chatbot offerings, with the rollout of ChatGPT’s integration with Bing beginning today through a paid ChatGPT Plus subscription. Microsoft and OpenAI first discussed their partnership and sending the search engine to 100 million monthly users of OpenAI’s chatbot at Build 2023, and have since expanded the capabilities with their latest integration.
The integration will allow users to leverage real-time web information through Bing and ChatGPT’s GPT-4 language model for their conversations. Whilst Bing Chat has similar features, the two chatbots are distinct and made by different companies, giving them distinct advantages when it comes to pushing out new functionality.
Microsoft’s Bing is the default search engine for ChatGPT, bringing with it the benefits of having access to the wealth of information on the web. OpenAI has also built a plugin for free users to make sure everyone can benefit from the integration while ChatGPT Plus subscribers get full access to Bing’s features.
The integration should help users boost their conversations now that the chatbot has Bing’s web information at its disposal. However, users should take into account that both chatbots may have slightly different offerings, as Managing Editor Richard Devine had recently dropped ChatGPT Plus because of Bing.
The integration is a smart and welcome move from Microsoft and OpenAI, who are clearly focused on developing and altering the capabilities of chatbots. By utilizing the partnership for ChatGPT’s benefit, the involved companies have opened the door for new and improved interactions that could help shape the future of the chatbot industry at large.
