Bing Unveils Its Response to Google’s AI Summaries

This afternoon, Microsoft showcased its innovative response to Google’s AI-enhanced search capabilities by introducing Bing generative search. Learn more here.

Currently accessible to a select “small percentage” of users, Bing generative search leverages a mixture of both large and small generative AI frameworks (the specifics of which remain undisclosed) to collate data from the internet and produce summaries tailored to user queries.

For instance, when a user queries “What is a spaghetti western?,” Bing’s generative search feature compiles data about the genre’s historical background, origins, and notable examples. It also provides citations and links to validate the sourced information. Similar to Google’s AI Overviews, Bing allows users the option to opt-out of AI-generated responses in favor of traditional search results on the same page.

“This marks a significant milestone in enhancing the search experience through Bing, and we are keen on gathering user feedback throughout this endeavor,” Microsoft announced on its official blog. “We are rolling this out gradually, aiming to solicit feedback, explore, and improve to ensure an exceptional user experience prior to a wider release… Stay tuned for future updates.”

Microsoft affirms that its Bing generative search enhances the way AI-generated chat responses were offered in Bing as of February, aiming to more precisely fulfill the essence of user inquiries. Nonetheless, instances of AI generating inaccurate search outcomes have been documented.

For example, Google’s AI Overviews mistakenly recommended applying glue to a pizza. Arc Search erroneously informed a journalist that severed toes could regenerate. Genspark suggested various methods for committing violence, while Perplexity has been accused of plagiarizing content from reputable news sources such as CNBC, Bloomberg, and Forbes without proper acknowledgment or attribution.

The emergence of AI-generated summaries presents a real threat to diverting traffic away from original content sources. A study revealed that AI Overviews could potentially reduce traffic to publisher sites by around 25% due to less emphasis on direct article links.

Meanwhile, Microsoft reassures that it is focused on “preserving site visitations” and is “carefully evaluating how generative search influences publisher traffic.” However, the company has yet to release any supporting metrics, only mentioning “preliminary data” that remains confidential for now.

This approach has understandably led to some skepticism.