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Microsoft recently announced a host of new artificial intelligence (AI)-based features for its Bing chatbot and Edge web browser. Chief among the changes is that Bing users now have full access to the GPT-4 model, the same underlying engine that powers the ChatGPT Plus subscription service.
Previously, Microsoft provided access to the GPT-4 version of the Bing chatbot for a “limited preview”. It now announces open availability through the Bing app, web access, and the Edge browser.
In addition to giving Bing, Edge, and Windows users free, seamless access to the GPT-4 model, Microsoft also announced upcoming support for multimodal exits, chat history, and plugins.
Multimodal support will allow the Bing chatbot to generate responses that include a combination of text, images, and video. It will also have the ability to generate charts and graphs, which could give it an edge over ChatGPT.
Users will also have access to their full chat history, and for those using the Edge browser, the ability to move chats to the sidebar to continue browsing in the same tab. Microsoft says this feature will be implemented “soon”.
According to the blog post, in the future, Bing will even be able to refer to previous sessions when interacting with users:
“Over time, we try to make your chats more personal by adding context from the previous chat to new conversations.”
Perhaps the most ambitious addition announced is “Edge Actions,” also called “Bing Actions,” Microsoft’s term for upcoming integrations using third-party Bing chat plugins.
The only plug-ins specifically mentioned in the announcement are OpenTable, which will allow users to make restaurant reservations directly from the chat interface, and Wolfram/Alpha, a modality that will allow users to create complex visualizations for mathematical and scientific queries. Microsoft says more integrations will be revealed as they are implemented.
The new features will not require any purchases or subscriptions, although users will need a free Microsoft account to take advantage of the full features of the Bing chatbot.
In contrast, the OpenAI ChatGPT Plus service costs $20/month to access the same GPT-4 model (the free ChatGPT service uses GPT-3.5). In addition, ChatGPT Plus does not currently offer image generation, web search, or support for third-party plug-ins.
It’s unclear how Microsoft and OpenAI intend to balance their offerings. Social media experts have expressed bewilderment at what appears to be competition for users, as the companies essentially became partners after Microsoft invested $10 billion in OpenAI.
ChatGPT and Bing Chat keep colliding, and it’s unclear how this will end.
– Why pay for ChatGPT Plus when Bing Chat also uses GPT-4?
– If you are paying for Plus, why use Bing Chat when ChatGPT will have browsing soon?
– And now, both have plugins!— Pete (@nonmayorpete) May 4, 2023
Currently, those who pay for ChatGPT Plus receive certain benefits not available to the general public or users of Bing chatbots. These include early access to new features, priority system access even during periods of high traffic, and faster response times from the model.
In 2023, the world of cryptocurrencies saw a surge of interest in chatbot technologies. Developers have created advanced offline trading bots on the GPT-4 platform and many individual cryptocurrency users have started using chatbots for various reasons.
Related: Cryptocurrency Twitter Uses New AI Chatbot to Create Trading Bots, Blogs and Even Songs
It is currently unknown if OpenAI intends to adjust its subscription offering in the face of Bing’s ubiquity – Microsoft says the search engine now boasts 100 million users, and the addition of Bing AI to the Windows taskbar gives it a potential global reach of over half a billion monthly users. .
