Image: © Tobias Arhelger/Stock.adobe.com
Yusuf Mehdi, marketing chief at Microsoft, said roughly a third of the millions using the new Bing preview are new to the search engine.
Microsoft has revealed that its Bing browser has now crossed the 100m daily active user milestone as more people flock to it to access the AI-powered search feature.
Bing has long played second fiddle to the significantly more popular Google search engine. Microsoft Edge, the company’s flagship web browser that succeeded Internet Explorer, also lags behind competitors Google Chrome and Apple Safari.
However, ever since the software giant teamed up with OpenAI to unveil a new Bing powered by ChatGPT, there has been growing interest in the search engine and the Edge browser that runs it by default. Bing powered by AI was recently released in a limited preview form.
At the time the announcement was made in early February, Microsoft said ChatGPT makes basic search query responses more accurate and relevant. For more complex questions, the new Bing offers an interactive chat experience to help users refine their question so they can get the best results.
“AI will fundamentally change every software category, starting with the largest category of all – search,” said Microsoft chair and CEO Satya Nadella. “We’re launching Bing and Edge powered by AI co-pilot and chat, to help people get more from search and the web.”
Just last week, Microsoft said it is launching a major update for Windows 11 that brings a new typable search box directly into the taskbar, letting users quickly access the feature with the capabilities of an AI-powered Bing, giving hundreds of millions of people access to the tech.
However, it hasn’t been a smooth journey for AI-powered Bing since its launch. Last month, various examples were shared online of the new Bing chatbot sending strange responses to basic questions by giving incorrect, aggressive and eerie responses to user queries.
At the time, a Microsoft spokesperson told SiliconRepublic.com that the company is aware of the issues and that “long, extended chat sessions of 15 or more questions” can cause Bing to become repetitive or give unhelpful responses.
Now, Microsoft corporate VP and consumer chief marketing officer Yusuf Mehdi says he is delighted by “the virtuous cycle of feedback and iteration that is driving strong Bing improvements and usage”, adding that about a third of the preview users are new to Bing.
“[100m daily active users] is a surprisingly notable figure, and yet we are fully aware we remain a small, low, single digit share player,” he said. “That said, it feels good to be at the dance!”
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