Bing Chat opens up to more users and developers with API, expanded visual answers

Microsoft is opening up Bing Chat with an API for developers and rolling out its new Bing Chat to all users who download Microsoft Edge — there’s no more waitlist.

Over half a billion chats were conducted on Bing Chat since it launched 3-months ago, Microsoft corporate vice president Yusuf Mehdi said.

Why we care. We’ve been keeping a close eye on generative AI integrations throughout the martech space. Bing Chat attracts many users who come to Bing to carry out searches and get questions answered. The API and new functionality will expand the possible applications for marketers. Exporting and sharing Bing Chats, for instance, makes it easier for marketers to collaborate.

What’s new. There are four main points to what is new with Bing Chat:

• Developer access to build third-party apps on top of Bing Chat.
• Removal of the waitlist for Bing Chat by going from a “Limited Preview” to an “Open Preview.”
• Gaining more visual answers for Bing Chat with rich images and videos.
• Offering a multi-session experiences with new chat history and persistent chats within the Edge browser, as well as the ability to export and share Bing chats.

API. Microsoft said soon, developers will be able to build third-party plug-ins into the Bing Chat experience. This is also something Bing hinted was coming weeks ago. In the screen shot below, you can see an example of OpenTable helping you find and book a reservation with a restaurant. This is something OpenAI’s ChatGPT already supports.

Improved experience with more visuals. Bing has updated the answers within Bing Chat to be more visually appealing by improving the formatting and layout, adding more rich images and rich videos, and also by adding charts and graphs when relevant. Also, Bing Image Creator is available in all languages, which means over 100 different languages, talk about getting more visual.

Microsoft also redesigned Edge to show chats in a better and more visual format. This includes streamlined look, rounded corners, organized containers and semi-transparent visual elements, the company said. Here is what it looks like:

You can even go from the Bing Chat interface into the Edge sidebar interface, so you can browse the web and continue your chat.

You will also be able to ask Bing Chat for answers by uploading images as part of your chat. After you upload an image, Bing Chat can search the web for related content.

In addition, Bing Chat in Microsoft Edge has improved summarization capabilities for long documents, both in PDF and HTML formats.

Chat history and exporting. Microsoft has been talking about adding chat history for some time now and now Microsoft is rolling it out for Bing Chat. You can use Bing Chat and be able to pick up where you left off, then you can return to previous chats in Bing’s chat history.

There is a “recents” tab on the right side to pickup where you left off. You can also see a “saved” tab for chats you saved for later.

Microsoft is also adding the ability to export and share your chats from Bing Chat or Edge sidebar. You will be able to share your chats on social media or move them into tools like Microsoft Word, if you so desire.

Additional reporting by Barry Schwartz