Microsoft is bringing ChatGPT-powered Bing to Windows 11 in latest update
Microsoft’s (MSFT) ChatGPT-powered Bing has been making headlines since the company unveiled the AI generative chatbot earlier this month. And now the software is integrated directly into Windows 11.
The Bing app, available today as part of Microsoft’s latest Windows 11 update, resides in your PC’s taskbar, where it’s accessible via a search box, so you can always ask the bot questions without the Edge web browser to have to open.
“You can just tap on the taskbar and ask for information and get and get helpful information,” Yusuf Mehdi, corporate vice president and consumer CMO, told Yahoo Finance. “I think that’s the first step in making this tool even more relevant to everything you do on the PC.”
Bing has been praised for offering a new way for users who sign up to access the preview to search the web by chatting with the AI-powered bot. But it’s also been criticized for providing inaccurate answers in some cases, including during my own testing when it gave me the wrong revenue data for Apple’s (AAPL) earnings report. In other cases, users have accused the bot of giving strange answers to long strings of queries.
Microsoft now limits the number of questions a user can ask the bot in a row and how many threads it can start each day to eliminate potential problems.
However, Mehdi says Microsoft recognizes that users are interested in using Bing as a form of entertainment by asking it a long series of questions, so it is working to bring the feature back.
“Now we [have] People who want to get those longer creative chats because they missed this social entertainment opportunity. And so we’re looking at slowly enabling that back as we work through the issues so that works well for people,” he explained.
Bing isn’t the only game in town, either. Google (GOOG, GOOGL) is working on its own generative AI chatbot Bard, and China-based Tencent is working on a similar offering. However, Microsoft clearly recognizes the benefits of being first to market with the software and is working to ensure it gets to all of its platforms as soon as possible.
Just last week, the company unveiled its Bing mobile app along with a new version of its Edge browser that runs the chatbot. Microsoft has also integrated Bing into its Skype communication app.
In addition to introducing Bing to Windows 11, Microsoft is offering a variety of additional upgrades for its operating system. One of the more interesting improvements is the ability to receive and send calls and messages, and get notifications for your apps from your iPhone on your PC. Microsoft already offers the feature for Android devices, but this is the first time it’s doing so for iPhone users.
The option, dubbed Phone Link, will only be made available to a small number of testers at first, but it should make using your Windows PC and iPhone at the same time a lot easier. Unfortunately, according to Microsoft, you can’t reply to group texts or send media via Phone Link. Still, it’s a start.
Microsoft is also adding a new power saving feature to Windows 11 that will reportedly help reduce your carbon footprint. When this option is enabled, your PC will automatically adjust the screen brightness and power mode to use the most energy-efficient settings. Other options include disabling the screen saver, reducing the time your PC takes to go to sleep, and stopping connected USB devices when your computer screen turns off.
Finally, Microsoft is rolling out a new Quick Assist app that aims to give family IT staff the ability to remotely control their parents’ or grandparents’ Windows 11 PCs to help them with technical issues.
Microsoft says the updates will land on PCs in the coming weeks, but users will need to sign in to get access to the Bing preview.
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