Microsoft recently announced it would threaten to cut off access to its internet-search data which it usually licenses to rival search engines in certain cases. This is due to the use of their data as the basis for their own artificial intelligence chat products. Two companies that Microsoft licenses its Bing search index to – Apollo Global Management’s Yahoo and DuckDuckGo – are two of the companies that were threatened to have their license revoked if they don’t stop using Microsoft’s search data to build their AI chat bots.
Microsoft licenses its Bing search index to other companies to allow them to provide web search, like those mentioned before, and recently integrated a cousin of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, an AI-powered chat technology, into Bing. Following this, the company noticed their rivals quickly moving to roll out their own AI chat bots. Alphabet’s Google, for example, publicly released Bard, an AI conversational product.
Both You.com and Neeva – two newer search engines – have also released their own AI search services while using Microsoft’s Bing search index to provide data since it is too costly to get the same information together on their own. Microsoft has now begun to act by informing two of its customers that the use of their search index to feed their AI chat tools is in violation of the contract and that their access to the search index could be terminated.
Microsoft is a leader in the field of technology and digital services, providing products and services across a variety of categories, particularly in the field of artificial intelligence. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, the company has been a cornerstone of the tech industry for decades, creating products, software and services for a wide range of devices, from computers and phones to video gaming systems.
Satya Nadella is the current CEO of Microsoft, having taken up the position in 2014. He has widely been credited with turning the company around following the departure of its founder, Bill Gates. Under his lead, the company has shifted its focus to mobile and cloud services, leading to an increase in profitability and a revitalized product lineup. His time in charge has emphasized the development of Microsoft Artificial Intelligence technologies, including the Bing Search Index.
