Microsoft is reportedly planning to enhance its search engine, Bing, by integrating the artificial intelligence (AI) technology behind OpenAI’s ChatGPT. According to sources familiar with the matter, Microsoft could launch this new feature as early as March, with the intention of challenging Google’s dominant position in the search engine market.
Last year, Microsoft signaled its intention to integrate Dall-E 2, its image-generation software, into Bing. Now, the company is taking it a step further by incorporating ChatGPT, a chatbot designed to mimic human-like conversation based on user prompts. ChatGPT has the ability to respond to a wide range of questions while imitating human speaking styles.
By incorporating OpenAI’s AI technology into Bing, Microsoft hopes to present a more competitive alternative to Google’s search engine. Google’s parent company, Alphabet, has recently experienced a slowdown in advertising revenue growth, which is primarily derived from search ads. Microsoft, too, saw its search and advertising growth rate decline in the fourth quarter of the 2022 fiscal year.
OpenAI’s AI products, including ChatGPT, the natural language system GPT-3, and Dall-E 2, have been identified as potential disruptors in the industry. Google’s management reportedly declared a code red after recognizing the potential threat posed by ChatGPT, which provides clear explanations instead of just providing links in response to user queries. In response, Google has been developing its own chatbot technology called Language Model for Dialogue Applications, which some claim is highly sophisticated, bordering on sentience.
This move by Microsoft highlights its continued collaboration with OpenAI, having previously invested $1 billion in the San Francisco-based AI company. The partnership aims to develop AI supercomputing technologies on Microsoft’s Azure cloud computing service.
Neither Microsoft nor OpenAI have commented on the reports. However, if the integration of ChatGPT into Bing proves successful, it could provide users with an enhanced search experience and introduce a new level of competition in the search engine market. As these AI-powered advancements continue to evolve, it remains to be seen how the future of search engines will be shaped.
