All the news from Microsoft’s February AI event

taster and smarterMicrosoft announced a new AI-powered version of its Bing search engine yesterday, all thanks to an upgraded version of the same AI technology behind ChatGPT. I’ve only spent a few hours using this new version of Bing and other AI-powered features in Microsoft’s Edge browser, but the technology already feels like a big upgrade to ChatGPT.

One of the first questions I asked Edge’s new “compose” feature was to write a resignation letter for my boss in a funny tone and with the main reason being that I felt my job was being replaced by AI. The letter it generated is impressive and genuinely funny:

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) already expressed concerns about Microsoft’s plans to acquire Activision Blizzard last year, but it now says the deal could harm UK gamers. The CMA has published provisional findings in its investigation into the Microsoft and Activision deal and found that it “could result in higher prices, fewer choices, or less innovation for UK gamers.” The CMA has offered up possible remedies that include Microsoft being forced to sell off Activision Blizzard’s business associated with Call of Duty.

The CMA makes it clear that it’s mainly concerned about two things: cloud gaming and game exclusivity. “The evidence available to the CMA currently indicates that Microsoft would find it commercially beneficial to make Activision’s games exclusive to its own cloud gaming service (or only available on other services under materially worse conditions),” says the UK regulator.

Search engines are about to change in a very important way: when you type in a query and get an official-looking answer, it might be wrong — because an AI chatbot created it.

Today, Microsoft announced a new version of its Bing search engine that will provide “complete answers” to your questions by tapping into the power of ChatGPT. You can already try some canned sample searches and sign up for more.

Microsoft’s new ChatGPT-powered Bing experience will be available today for everybody as a “limited preview” on desktop. You’ll have a limited number of queries that you can use with it, but you will be able to sign up for full access soon.

If you visit Bing.com, you may see some example searches that you can try out, if it shows you the new interface. Clicking on them will lead you to a Bing search page with traditional results on the left, and a chat window on the right with the AI-generated answer. Until you have full access, you won’t be able to ask follow-up questions or clarify the results. Searching for your own query will give you Bing’s traditional search results, despite the homepage using the new chat-style UI.

Microsoft has announced a new version of its search engine Bing, powered by an upgraded version of the same AI technology that underpins chatbot ChatGPT. The company is launching the product alongside new AI-enhanced features for its Edge browser, promising that the two will provide a new experience for browsing the web and finding information online.

“It’s a new day in search,” said Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella at an event announcing the products. Nadella argued that the paradigm for web search hasn’t changed in decades, but that AI can deliver information more fluidly and quickly than traditional methods.

Microsoft is holding a surprise event at its Redmond headquarters today, where it’s expected to focus on its OpenAI partnership and introduce a version of Bing with ChatGPT. Unlike most of Microsoft’s events over the past few years, this special press event will be held in person and not livestreamed at all. You’ll need to follow The Verge’s live blog below for all the announcements as they happen.

Microsoft invited media to this event last week before making the details public just minutes after Google announced its own ChatGPT rival. That should tell you how important this event is for Microsoft and what’s on the agenda. While Microsoft is keeping details thin, the invite says Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella will “share some progress on a few exciting projects,” so expect a number of important announcements.

Microsoft is about to go head-to-head with Google in a battle for the future of search. At a press event later today, Microsoft is widely expected to detail plans to bring OpenAI’s ChatGPT chatbot to its Bing search engine. Google has already tried to preempt the news, making a rushed announcement yesterday to introduce Bard, its rival to ChatGPT, and promising more details on its AI future in a press event on Wednesday.

The announcements put the two tech behemoths, known for their previous skirmishes with each other, on a collision course as they compete to define the next generation of search.