Microsoft’s AI-powered Bing and Google’s Bard are set to revolutionise the search engine market — when they are launched

A new chat service is on the horizon! Well, sort of new. Microsoft is trying to make a big move in the search engine market by integrating ChatGPT into its own web search engine, Bing. And at first, it looked pretty good. Microsoft made headlines after opening up the waiting list for its Bing AI preview, with more than 1 million people signing up in just 48 hours. Now the company is explaining why it’s taking some time to unlock the service for everyone. Microsoft is currently testing its Bing AI service in 169 countries around the world, and the company is prioritising those who use Bing and Edge as their default search engine and browser, as well as those who have the Bing mobile app installed. This focus on existing users is reflected in Bing’s brief rise to the top of the App Store rankings last week. While some may be disappointed to have to wait to access the new AI chat search engine, it’s clear that Microsoft is taking a measured approach to ensure a successful launch for its latest offering.

Yusuf Mehdi, the Corporate Vice President & Consumer Chief Marketing Officer at Microsoft, has issued a reminder about the waitlist for the new Bing service. In a tweet, Mehdi explained that Microsoft is currently in a Limited Preview phase, testing and improving the service, and scaling people off the waitlist daily. Mehdi acknowledged high demand with multiple millions now on the waitlist and asked for patience.

Hey all! There have been a few questions about our waitlist to try the new Bing, so here’s a reminder about the process:

We’re currently in Limited Preview so that we can test, learn, and improve. We’re slowly scaling people off the waitlist daily.

If you’re on the waitlist,… https://t.co/06PcyYE6gw pic.twitter.com/Lf3XkuZX2i

— Yusuf Mehdi (@yusuf_i_mehdi) February 15, 2023

While the full scope of Bing’s AI chat functionality hasn’t been released to the main public yet, we’ve seen some examples of what it will look like. The preview examples aren’t really groundbreaking, but the service is currently in a limited functionality mode, meaning it’s not yet available for general use. If you’re keen to experience the latest chatbot technology, now’s the time to sign up and get ready for the full launch — but you may have to be patient. I wouldn’t be surprised if it takes Microsoft at least a couple of weeks to get this massive service fully up and running. And who knows if it’ll be any better than the original ChatGPT.

With Google’s upcoming release of its own chat service, Bard, the competition between the two tech giants is sure to heat up. With both companies vying for the top spot in the search engine and chatbot market, it’s only a matter of time before the full functionality of these tools is made available to the public. Personally, I can’t wait to see how this race unfolds and look forward to testing the full capabilities of these new tools when they become available.

Resources

The New York Times (2023, February 15), Microsoft’s Bing Chatbot Offers Some Puzzling and Inaccurate Responses.

The Verge (2023, February 15), Here’s why you’re still waiting for Bing AI.