If you’re using Windows 11, Bing Chat with ChatGPT (based on the GPT-4 modeling language) is now available inside its search box. It’s free to use with a Microsoft account on the Microsoft Edge browser. Bing Chat with ChatGPT gives you advanced reinforcement learning and AI feedback-based search results that are comparable to those of OpenAI’s paid offering, ChatGPT Plus. The following is a clear and detailed guide for desktop users on how to use Bing’s AI-driven chatbot in any version of Windows.
Good to know: if you’re having Internet issues, fix your Wi-Fi connection first before accessing Bing Chat.
How Bing Chat Differs from ChatGPT
ChatGPT is a popular deep learning tool that is revolutionizing the way we use artificial intelligence (AI) in our daily activities. Through its alliance with OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, Microsoft has introduced ChatGPT’s GPT-4 language model to its Bing search results, being the first search engine to do so.
Bing Chat is a unique product from Microsoft that sets itself apart from ChatGPT through its features and presentation. It is designed for deep learning use on the Microsoft Edge browser with the Bing search engine and, after a March 2023 version 22H2 update, for the first time ever, within the search box of the Windows 11 operating system.
As long as the Microsoft Edge browser is installed on your endpoint device, Bing Chat with ChatGPT can also be used with Windows 10/8.1/8/7, macOS, Linux, or even mobile operating systems such as iOS or Android. For that, you need to manually sign into Bing search engine on Edge browser.
Upon entering your query in Bing Chat, the search flyout transforms into a browser window displaying relevant web search results. You can scroll down and click on the search result hyperlinks as you would in a browser.
Bing Chat surpasses ChatGPT due to its status as a full-fledged search engine. As a result, Bing Chat’s responses are more finely tuned to any latest search criteria than regular ChatGPT. Even when it is free to use, Bing Chat can thus be compared to premium ChatGPT applications such as ChatGPT Plus and GitHub CoPilot.
Tip: if you’re experiencing slow boot times, we might be able to help solve this issue with these tips.
Obtaining Bing Chat for Windows 11
- To acquire Bing Chat on a Windows 11 Pro/Home/Enterprise device, go to “Settings -> Windows Update -> Check for updates” to see if there are any new updates available for your system.
- Once the updates are downloaded and installed on your device, a restart is all that is required to access Bing Chat from the taskbar.
- To use the AI tool in search, ensure that the Microsoft Edge browser is among your installed apps. All search queries initiated from the Bing Chat button will be directed to Edge, even if you have a different default browser such as Google Chrome.
- Finally, if you are using the Edge browser for the first time, make sure to log in with a valid Microsoft account. You can access Bing Chat even without signing in, but the results are more restricted and that way, it cannot learn your search intent over time.
How to Enable or Disable Bing Chat in Windows
Prior to using Bing Chat via the Windows 11 search box, certain settings must be enabled on your device. By default, search results on the latest versions of Windows are enabled for cloud-based searching. You can set up the search permissions on your device by following these steps.
- Go to “Settings -> Privacy & security -> Search permissions -> Cloud content search.”
- Turn on the toggle switch for “Microsoft account” to get web, app, and file results from Windows search.
- Scroll down to “More settings” and enable “Show search highlights”. This is necessary for getting content suggestions in the search window.
- Restart your computer and you should see the Bing Chat icon in the search box.
- If you want to disable Bing Chat in Windows 11 search box, toggle the same “Show search highlights” option off.
- You can see here that the Bing Chat button has been removed from the search box. However, it would still be available from inside once you type your detailed search query.
FYI: getting an “Internal Server Error” after submitting your queries on ChatGPT? Learn how to eliminate it to continue chatting.
Utilizing Bing Chat for AI-based Inquiries (ChatGPT)
- To test Bing Chat in Windows 11, type a simple search query or question and see its related web search results.
- You can click on them for more information just like a normal browsing outcome. Watch out for the two “Bing Chat” buttons on the top left and right corners. They will redirect you to Bing Chat on the Microsoft Edge browser when you click on them. The chatbot plug-in, thus, is a shortcut rather than a proper integration with Windows 11 search box results.
- When you click “Open results in browser”, it will take you to a Bing web page on the Edge browser with all the search results in their order of relevance. This is how we use Windows 11 Bing Chat to get normal web search engine results.
- To start viewing AI-based search results instead, you will need to press the “Chat” or “Bing” buttons in search.
- Chatting with Bing ChatGPT can have a learning curve for first-time users. It may take some time to understand how the system operates (Pro tip: it relies on your personal preferences and recommendations).
- You have the option to select from three distinct conversation styles: “More Creative,” “More Balanced,” and “More Precise.” Depending on the intricacy of the subject and your desired outcome, you can adjust your inquiries to receive a more tailored response.
- If you opt for the “More Creative” conversation style, Bing Chat using GPT-4 modeling language can generate basic poems, quotes, and ideas for speeches. This is useful for generating ideas, but it would require some effort to make the poetry sound more human-like and less robotic. The more unrelated keywords you use, the more absurd your creative outcome will be (following the Garbage-in, Garbage-Out principle)
- When you select the “More Precise” conversation style, Bing Chat provides you with more accurate search results on any subject. It’s essentially an enhanced search engine.
- For instance, when we inquired about the trends in the US Dollar-Euro exchange rate over the past twenty years, it returned the values for both year-ends.
Tip: tired of Windows always opening links in Edge or Bing? We show you how to stop this.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does Bing Chat compare to Google when it comes to search?
As search engines, both Google and Bing index the entire world wide web and bring out relevant information to your search queries. Check our comparison of Google and Bing search engines. The addition of ChatGPT capabilities via Bing Chat is a game-changer. It makes Bing capable of providing its own answers based on previously inputted ideas. Google has yet to integrate this capability into its search engine.
What is Google's equivalent to ChatGPT?
Google search engine is planning to launch a chatbot called Bard which at the moment, is available for free use. You just need to sign in with a Google account, and you can enter a prompt that will generate a response based on how accurate your queries are. The program is currently in its testing phase and it will be a while before it can be used with the Google search engine.
Can ChatGPT replace writers?
Contrary to some online rumors, ChatGPT is not yet capable to replace human-generated writing. The results with ChatGPT on Bing Chat can be erroneous at times, as well as baffling, long-winded, or illogical. They depend on search engine results and whatever you type in the Bing Chat search window. That means they don’t really have independent thinking.
The more complex your technical question and the more specialized your area of research, the higher the likelihood that ChatGPT may provide results that would not seem very smart. The same goes with all other chatbots which at the moment aren’t nearly as developed as ChatGPT.
While tools like ChatGPT can’t replace writing, they can initialize fresh ideas for you to work with.
All images and screenshots by Sayak Boral.
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