As expected, Microsoft announced a change to its search engine by integrating ChatGPT. More surprising: the OpenAI tool is also available in Edge, and it’s a fantastic idea.
” The research [sur le web] has been the same for 20 years, it’s a list of links”. During its conference, Microsoft multiplied the tackles leaning on Google, its hegemonic competitor. And for good reason… a few hours after Bard’s announcement by Google, Microsoft officially unveils its new version of Bing boosted with artificial intelligence.
A new way to search the web
Rumors were right: Microsoft intends to merge ChatGPT and Bing. A two-step plan that shows that Microsoft and OpenAI have understood that it is important to revolutionize habits without rushing them too much.
The first element blends both traditional, link-based search and the chatbot that’s been all the rage on the web lately. In addition to the sites usually displayed, Bing will therefore be able to answer slightly more detailed questions requiring you to go to the sites in question. By asking him, for example, if the Klippan sofa from Ikea fits in a 2019 Honda Odyssey, you will have, in addition to the results leading to the Ikea and Honda sites, a short text indicating the dimensions of the sofa, the capacity car storage and advice on how to fit it in.
Unlike ChatGPT, Bing indicates its sources and takes more tweezers. To the question of the sofa, he specifies for example that “this is not a definitive answer and you should always measure the objects before attempting to transport them”.
GPT-4 dans Bing ?!
Even more, the new Bing directly integrates a conversational agent very close to ChatGPT on the form. The links then disappear and you communicate with a web-connected artificial intelligence that can answer your questions. You can ask him to plan a trip for you, find you the best gaming TV, or translate the whole thing into a hundred different languages.
Microsoft clarified that this artificial intelligence is based on “the next generation of OpenAI’s large language model, customized especially for research”. If the name of GPT-4 was not pronounced, it is hollow what was insinuated several times during the conference. And as if to confirm, “it’s much more powerful than ChatGPT” (which uses GPT-3.5)
The dangers are measured
Of course, with such power comes some responsibility. Microsoft promises to have worked to prevent its conversational agent from giving information that could be harmful. Several layers of security have thus been added, from the configuration of the model (called Prometheus) to a content filtering system.
During the first tests, the team responsible for verifying the proposed content realized that this engine was capable of preparing an attack plan on a school if it was asked to do so. It was after that that all these securities were added. The model itself is used to play the “bad actor” and thus train to dodge these subjects.
An integration in Edge
Prometheus has also been integrated into a new version of Microsoft Edge, the firm’s browser. In addition to the rounded corners closer to Windows 11 standards, this interface version integrates the chat interface into a sidebar.
It will thus be possible to ask this model to perform actions for us on a given page. Among the examples given, Microsoft mentions the possibility of summarizing a 15-page PDF document in one click or changing the language of a piece of code on Stack Overflow. The possibilities are as numerous as they are incredible.
The new Bing is available today on PC in a limited version. Anyone can try out a limited number of queries and sign up for the full version. The deployment will be spread over the next few weeks, which explains why you do not have access to it yet. Likewise, the mobile version will arrive soon.
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