Two weeks ago, Introducing the new AI-powered Bing and Microsoft Edge to the world — your co-pilots for the web. Since then, we’ve experienced strong engagement with very positive feedback on the product, with over a million people from 169 countries moving from the waitlist to the preview phase. We continue to expand the preview phase to more people every day. Our community is actively using the full range of new features such as Survey, Answers, Chat and Create with increasing engagement. Feedback on the updates is positive, with 71% of testers giving the new Bing a “like” for the new search and answers features. We are even more excited about the breadth of feedback we are receiving about where and how we can improve, which is generating results already present in our regular updates.
We’re seeing some interesting use cases and queries in preview testing. I recently heard from a father who showed his son the new Bing and together they discovered and created it in a way that wouldn’t be easy with today’s search engines. They started by creating sci-fi stories using simple chat questions, which led to the development of a video game idea where Bing not only helped them create a plot, but also generated the code for insertion directly into Scratch – a visual programming tool. With just a few queries, they captured the wonder and potential of the new Bing and Edge. We’ve been hearing many similar stories about how the new Bing is helping people discover and create in ways that weren’t possible before.
Sign up for the new Bing preview
In that spirit of learning and creating new features, we’re excited to share the preview of the new Bing and Edge mobile apps today, along with some cool new features like voice input. Additionally, we’re creating a new chat experience, starting with Skype, to enhance your social communications with your friends and family.
The New Bing and Edge Go Mobile: Introducing Voice Search
Because we know that 64% of searches take place on mobile phones, we’re releasing all new Bing and Edge mobile apps to act as your co-pilot for the web, even when you’re away from your PC.
Imagine the following hypothesis: on an unexpected flight stopover, Bing can help you plan a quick trip to Tokyo, for example, and find a place to store your luggage. He can then provide you with tips for navigating the subway system on the way to the famous Shinjuku Station. With a few hours to explore, Bing creates a short itinerary, helping you make the most of your quick visit, even translating as needed along the way.
Available today for iOS and Android, the Bing mobile app offers a fresh look and updated experience. Clicking on the Bing icon at the bottom will launch a chat session, which you can engage in in the same way as via your PC. Ask simple or complex questions and get answers and quotes. Choose how you want your answers to appear – bulleted, in text or in simplified answers. Explore the Bing chat experience to refine your query or compose an email, poem or list.
With the introduction of the new Bing mobile app, we’re adding one of the most requested features from the preview community – voice. Available on mobile devices and for the PC, voice search gives you more versatility in how you can ask questions and get answers in Bing.
Additionally, those who have access to the preview will be able to utilize the new Bing experience from the home page of the Microsoft Edge mobile app.
Bing goes social with Skype
To help you when you’re collaborating with friends and family, we’re introducing Bing on Skype powered by AI. More than 36 million people use Skype daily to connect via phone calls and chats in many countries around the world and the new Bing will enable some fun and useful scenarios and features.
Imagine having a co-pilot for your friends and family while you stay connected and plan your next meeting. Just add Bing to the group, as you would any Skype contact, and that’s it. you’ll be able to ask Bing to answer submitted questions and provide information for the entire group. For example, if your family is chatting about the next family gathering, you can simply ask Bing for suggestions on travel destinations, expected weather and interesting events according to your travel time, and everyone in the chat will have access to the results. When you’re chatting with friends, you can ask Bing to simply fetch information from the web, say the latest news or last night’s awards, to add to your conversation.
You can choose how you want your answers to appear – bulleted, in text or in a simplified answer. Bing can accommodate your preferences. Fluent in over 100 languages and capable of translating them all, Bing can bring unique value to this global communication tool.
Available worldwide in preview today, the new Bing on Skype can provide you with helpful, real-time answers to all your questions. As we learn and tweak this new feature, we envision bringing it to other communication apps in the future, like Teams.
If you’re currently in the Bing preview experience, these features will be available to you later today. If you are among those awaiting access, we appreciate your patience and enthusiasm. We are working as fast as possible to onboard more people every day. If you are interested in trying it out for yourself, sign up for preview Bing within today. We hope you enjoy the new features and keep sending us your feedback so we can continue to improve the product for you.