Microsoft is hosting an event Tuesday that’s expected to reveal the fusion of the artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT and Microsoft’s search engine Bing.
Invites to the event were sent last week, and attendees were told there will be news of «progress on a few exciting projects» from Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. The event starts at 10 a.m. PT/1 p.m. ET Tuesday at Microsoft’s Campus in Redmond, Washington.
Sam Altman, CEO of ChatGPT creator OpenAI, hinted strongly at such an announcement in a tweet Monday, saying that he’ll attend the event.
Microsoft hasn’t provided details on a possible integration of ChatGPT and Bing, but information about a new search experience appeared to leak last week. Images and details posted on social media documented a new interface, which may include a larger search box for chatting instead of for submitting search queries. A new Bing could potentially do research and handle tasks for people, according to leaked details. CNET has not confirmed the leaks.
Bing has long lived in the massive shadow of Google’s search engine. According to Statista, Google accounted for 84% of global desktop search in December, with Bing coming in second at 9%. But integration with ChatGPT could be a game changer.
ChatGPT has taken the world by storm since artificial intelligence developer OpenAI released it in late November. Tens of millions of people have raced to sign up and test its chops. The AI doesn’t know anything per se but can recognize patterns in text harvested from the internet, allowing it to fully answer questions from people. It can create bedtime stories, write poems, make diet plans, help you lower bills, get you out of tickets — and complete homework assignments such as essays, a feature that has struck fear in the hearts of teachers.
Microsoft, which had already invested in the OpenAI and created a partnership years ago, pledged to invest billions of more dollars into the company in January in order to build new features.
Microsoft’s announcement of the event came shortly after Google revealed on Monday its own AI chatbot called Bard. Google said its chatbot will integrate with its search engine and use the AI to break down complex information for users.
Editors’ note: CNET is using an AI engine to create some personal finance explainers that are edited and fact-checked by our editors. For more, see this post.
