Let the games begin, the battle for the best AI-powered search engine has begun

The battle for the most intuitive search function has begun as Google and Microsoft have both this week announced their plans to add generative AI to their respective search functions.

Google will be adding AI into Search and Microsoft will upgrade its Bing search engine with ChatGPT.

Overnight, Microsoft launched the new AI-powered Bing which the company said brings together search, browsing and chat into one “unified experience”.

This follows Google announcing a few days ago that it would be beginning to dip its toes into the AI chatbot space with its ChatGPT lookalike Bard and a more initiative, AI-based search function.

According to Microsoft, the AI-powered Bing search engine and Edge browser will “deliver better search, more complete answers, a new chat experience and the ability to generate content.”

For instance, users can ask Bing things to plan a trip in a specific month with certain destinations in mind or ask if a piece of furniture can fit into a car. 

Earlier this year, Microsoft invested US$10 billion into the generative AI program OpenAI which powers ChatGPT. OpenAI will be powering the Bing AI-based searched function.

Satya Nadella, Chairman and CEO, Microsoft said, “AI will fundamentally change every software category, starting with the largest category of all – search. Today, we’re launching Bing and Edge powered by AI copilot and chat, to help people get more from search and the web.”

Keeping up with the generative AI trend, Google announced a new AI chat function plus an AI-powered search tool.

Google will be releasing a “experimental conversational AI service” Bard. This tool will “seek to combine the breadth of the world’s knowledge with the power, intelligence and creativity of large language models. It draws on information from the web to provide fresh, high-quality responses.”

According to the search giant, Bard will be released in the coming weeks.

In a blog post, Google said users will soon see AI-powered features in its search function that will “distill complex information and multiple perspectives into easy-to-digest formats, so you can quickly understand the big picture and learn more from the web”.

Google said these features will begin rolling out on Search soon.