the new Bing

ICYMI, Microsoft today announced its new partnership with ChatGPT at an event. There were perks to being able live attend the event. You can get priority access to the new Edge experience, Microsoft’s browser.

I tried it out. After signing in, I was granted access to the Chat feature.

Because I live in Seattle and am a coffee connoisseur I wanted to find the best coffee shops in Seattle. I asked and was answered.

ChatGPT is very similar in the style and presentation of the results. You can hover over any underlined results to see more information, and click on the source.

Ok, Bing. That’s a great answer. This time, I wanted to find out which one it recommended. It seemed to be recommending one of the answers from the list above. It didn’t. In fact, it just generated a new list with five results.

Fine. Moore Coffee Shop is my choice. I don’t have the time to type the name so I’ll ask the “second” one what their hours are.

Good bot. Except for the “You will find more information and reviews …”” links below the hours, these links aren’t links so don’t click them. You can hover over the Moore website text at the top to open it in a new tab.

You can click on one of the prompts or ask another question at the bottom of this result. Let’s find out if Moore Coffee Shop offers the best food and drink.

These answers came from a variety of sources, including Yelp or Trip Advisor. It’s still useful. You can’t click on any links it suggests.

Let’s give it another try. Bing asked me what to do when I feel bored. However, it’s not a bad way to waste time. Here’s what it said to me.

I could click on the pre-filled question at the bottom but this example is enough for me. Let’s continue.

Asking for help. ChatGPT could be used to request help. If I was physically or mentally ill, what resources and answers would ChatGPT provide?

Yikes. It’s a good start. Let’s continue.

I assumed that hotlines for mental health resources would be the first results.

I was able to find articles and local centers, as well as ads. After I left the chat and returned to the search results, I was able to see hotline numbers and other topics related to mental health.

Vacation planning. This is the last question I will ask. I will be in NYC for a few days next month and don’t want any research. So I will ask Bing. What’s a good 3-day itinerary to NYC in March?

It was okay. It would have been much more enjoyable if they provided links to purchase tickets for the suggested activities.

So? Overall, ChatGPT integration has been a great addition. Microsoft still has a lot of work to do and I can see myself using it regularly.

Search Engine Land first published the post Driving the new Bing.