Bing search engine, Microsoft’s proprietary answer to web searching, now includes a tool that runs on ChatGPT called Deep Search. This AI-powered search tool isn’t considered a replacement for regular searches but is an added enhancement that makes search results more useful.
How Does Bing’s ChatGPT-Powered Search Engine Work?
Bing’s Deep Search, which is powered by ChatGPT, works by taking the search query you entered and expanding it to other related topics. Instead of having to drill down with more detailed search terms to find what you want, ChatGPT predicts your next questions and serves up potential lines of inquiry to explore.
The basic idea behind Deep Search is to provide results that don’t typically appear on the first pages of a search but add context and relevance to the initial query.
On the back end, the ChatGPT AI works by determining what other questions remain after the initial query is answered. As part of this process, it makes guesses as to the intent of the initial search. ChatGPT then rewrites the search query to encompass these related topics and does searches that match this new prompt.
Are All Bing Search Queries Answered by AI?
Currently, Deep Search, the AI-powered Bing search tool, is an optional feature, so you can always just use the regular search tool instead.
One reason people might opt for the regular search tool is time. Deep Search takes longer than a regular search, and you might have to wait up to 30 seconds to get results. If you’re searching for a simple query, such as a list of the best pizza restaurants in your city, then a simple search can deliver the information you need much more quickly.
How to Access Deep Search by Bing
Unfortunately, Bing’s AI-powered Deep Search isn’t available to everyone just yet. If you’re one of the lucky ones who already got the rollout of Deep Search, you can find the button for it located to the right of the regular search bar in Bing.
Once you activate Deep Search, a box opens that brings up suggested relevant search terms to explore. You can click on any of these suggestions to delve deeper into the topic.
Like all AI programs, developing a prompt that guides the AI to the specific topics you want can be a challenge. While the idea behind Deep Search is to let the AI delve into those details, learning the principles behind good AI prompting and effective search terms can help you guide the AI in the direction you want.
Is Deep Search the Only AI on Bing?
Deep Search is only one part of a suite of AI tools on Bing, all of which are based on ChatGPT. You can also access Copilot, Bing’s basic AI-powered chat tool that automatically delivers results in a box next to your regular search results in the web browser. On the Bing app, Copilot is accessible through a button that opens the chat app.
Bing also has integrated its image-creation AI, named Designer, with Copilot. You can use this to make pictures and graphics using ChatGPT and DALL-E, the AI image generator created by OpenAI.
Update as of April 2024:
After an initial trial run to limited users in December 2023, Bing’s ChatGPT-powered Deep Search was halted for a short period so the developers could make some adjustments before a full rollout. Deep Search is available to all Bing users as of March 22, 2024.
