It’s been a week since Microsoft started rolling out its new AI-powered Bing, which added ChatGPT-like features for answering questions and creating content. The new Bing is currently in limited preview, and Yusuf Mehdi, CVP and Consumer Chief Marketing at Microsoft shared an update yesterday on its public rollout.
“We’re now testing with people in 169 countries and seeing a lot of engagement with new features like Chat,” the exec said. Chat is a new Bing experience for more complex searches, and it lets users ask a question and then refine their search by asking Bing for more details.
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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
Since its launch, users have been testing the limits of Bing’s AI, and as expected, it’s currently far from perfect. Several reports have pointed out that it’s not that difficult to push Bing to say incorrect and sometimes borderline things, but again, that’s why the new search engine is currently in limited preview.
“Demand is high with multiple millions now on the waitlist,” Mehdi said, adding that Microsoft plans to expand access to the new AI-powered Bing to “millions of people” in the coming weeks. However, Microsoft will give priority access to people who already use Bing and Edge.
“We are prioritizing those with Bing and Edge as their default search engine & browser as well as the Bing Mobile app installed to optimize the initial experience. Over time we intend to bring it to all browsers,” Mehdi said.
If you have yet to join the waitlist for the new AI-powered Bing, you can do so on this page. You’ll be notified by email once you get access to it.