Microsoft and OpenAI deepen their collaboration: whoever searches the web in ChatGPT will use Bing in the future.
At the Microsoft Build conference, the company announced that it is introducing Bing as the default search engine for OpenAI ChatGPT. "ChatGPT will now have a world-class search engine built-in to provide timelier and more up-to-date answers with access from the web," Microsoft said. Answers can now be supported with search and web data, including citations.
Bing support is now available to ChatGPT Plus subscribers and will soon be available to users of the free version of ChatGPT via a Bing plugin, according to Microsoft.
Microsoft Bing and OpenAI ChatGPT share plugin ecosystem
In addition to Bing search for ChatGPT, Microsoft and OpenAI announced the support and development of a joint AI plugin ecosystem. This will allow developers to use a one platform to develop AI plugins "that work across both consumer and business surfaces, including ChatGPT, Bing, Dynamics 365 Copilot, Microsoft 365 Copilot, and Windows Copilot."
As part of the joint plugin platform, Microsoft is adding approximately 25 plugins to Bing's plugin support, including those from Expedia, Klarna, TripAdvisor, and Spotify. "With plugins built right into chat, across desktop and mobile, Bing makes relevant recommendations based on your conversation," the company said.
Bing app still going strong, says Microsoft
Microsoft also released some new numbers about Bing itself: Bing users have had more than half a billion chats, created more than 200 million images with Bing Image Creator, and daily downloads of the Bing mobile app have increased eightfold since launch, it said. But with the availability of OpenAI's ChatGPT app, those numbers could change quickly.
OpenAI's app is currently only available for iOS, but is expected to appear on Android devices soon.
