Microsoft has warned it will limit access to its Bing search index data to other competing search engines if they do not stop using it as the basis for their AI chatbots. Two of Bing’s customers have already been informed of the possibility of their license termination. Microsoft launched an AI-powered Bing search engine and Edge browser in February. Bing’s chatbot delivers complete answers to user queries, generates content and runs on OpenAI’s GPT-4 model, specifically customized for search. Google recently opened its ChatGPT rival, Bard, for public testing in the US and UK, while DuckDuckGo introduced DuckAssist, and new search engines like You.com and Neeva have launched their AI-powered search services. These search engines rely on Bing to provide some of their information, which could force them to develop their own data sources or search algorithms as Microsoft’s move will significantly impact the future of AI chatbots.
Microsoft to Cut-off Data Access to Bing Search Index from Rivals
Microsoft has warned that it will restrict access to its Bing search index data to other competing search engines if they do not stop using it as the basis for their AI chatbots. The data in Microsoft’s Bing search index is licensed to other companies like Yahoo and DuckDuckGo. However, Microsoft has reportedly informed at least two customers that use its Bing search index to defy the conditions of their agreement, and the company says that it may terminate the licenses that allow this access.
In February, Microsoft launched an AI-powered Bing search engine and Edge browser. Bing’s chatbot not only delivers better search but also complete answers to user queries as well as the ability to generate content. The new Bing runs on OpenAI’s large language model (GPT-4), which is more powerful than ChatGPT and customized specifically for search.
As the hype around chatbots grew, Microsoft’s competitors rushed to launch their own AI chatbots. Google recently opened its ChatGPT-rival, Bard, for public testing in the US and UK. It started rolling out access to Bard to a limited public this week, after opening it to a group of “trusted testers” in February. Other search engines like DuckDuckGo have also introduced DuckAssist, which uses AI to summarize answers to search queries. New search engines like You.com and Neeva have also introduced their AI-powered search services, YouChat and NeevaAI.
These search engines use Bing to provide some of their information, as indexing the entire web is expensive and requires servers to store data. Getting that data for a search chatbot would be just as difficult and expensive.
In conclusion, Microsoft’s warning to restrict access to its Bing search index data to other competing search engines may have a significant impact on the future of AI chatbots. As search engines like Google, DuckDuckGo, You.com, and Neeva rely on Bing for their data, this move by Microsoft may force them to develop their own data sources or search algorithms. It remains to be seen how this will play out in the fast-evolving field of AI and search engines.
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