Microsofts ChatGPT-powered Bing AI gets smarter with more local knowledge

Date:
Mon, 03 Apr 2023 13:23:01 +0000

Description:
The Bing chatbot seems to be getting better at a rate of knots, whereas Googles Bard AI well, not so much.

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Microsofts Bing AI just got some more improvements, including one that
should make the chatbot considerably more helpful when it comes to providing tailored recommendations based on your local area.

In a blog post introducing the latest changes, Microsoft acknowledged that it had received feedback telling the company that the ChatGPT-powered Bing
needed to do better with local-related queries.

In other words, specific requests such as asking for the whereabouts of a store in your neighborhood, for example.

Microsoft informs us that it has bolstered Bings chops in this regard, so
itll deliver better answers if youre trying to find a park, a store, or a doctors office near you.

Other tweaks Microsoft recently applied to its Bing chatbot include
increasing the limit of the max turns you can take (queries) in a single conversation from 15 to 20. Based on the allowance of 10 daily sessions, that gives you a limit of 200 turns per day in total.

Image and video search capabilities are also integrated in the chatbot now. These will pop up as answer cards, allowing the user to click see more to
dive into further detail with a Bing image search. Analysis: Pushing forward and besting Bard

Obviously beefing up the performance of the Bing AI to do better with local queries is an important move to make. Its no good having an all-singing and dancing AI (you have asked the chatbot to sing to you already, right?) if it falls down embarrassingly when it comes to making basic recommendations about locations and services near you.

Mind you, the enhanced performance for these kind of queries sounds like its in the early stages of getting a good coat of polish. As Microsoft puts it: Expect us to make further improvements in local grounding based on your feedback.

Like everything with Microsofts ChatGPT-powered AI, then, its very much a
work in progress. Still, the amount of progress being made is impressively sure and steady, which has got to be a worry for Google.

Googles rival AI, Bard, has been notably slow off the starting blocks.
Indeed, it feels like Google forced Bard onto the starting blocks before it had even laced its trainers, because the firm felt like the new Bing couldnt be left unanswered, seeing as the ChatGPT-powered AI is already boosting traffic to Microsofts search engine .

Were told that Bard will become more capable , and will receive improvements to its reasoning skills later this week, and its clear enough that Google recognizes it needs to move faster with its rival AI. At the same time, it cant afford any missteps as seen with Bards launch (and to be fair, with the Bing AIs launch too, although Microsoft seems to have recovered pretty well from the mishaps Bing encountered early on ).

Our main worry about Microsoft is that the success of the Bing chatbot so
far could go to the companys head. Theres already worrying talk of jamming adverts into Bing AI , which we very much hope wont happen. Thats probably a forlorn hope, and if it turns out that way, this could be an area that Bard could turn to its advantage. That said, its not like Google wont be surveying every avenue of monetization down the line, too itd be pretty nave to think otherwise.

Both companies would do well to remember that these AIs must be perceived as helpful friends, though, and not ones with a hidden agenda. Or, more to the point we suppose, a poorly hidden agenda which becomes painfully transparent



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/news/microsofts-chatgpt-powered-bing-ai-gets-smarter -with-more-local-knowledge


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