Microsoft tells us that its Bing search engine has hit new highs, now boasting 100 million day by day energetic customers.

The information got here through a publish on the Microsoft Bing weblog (opens in new tab) website observing the distinction that the ChatGPT-powered AI has made to Bing visitors in its first month of existence, pushing numbers up over 100 million for the primary time ever.

The corporate notes that there are over 1,000,000 customers of the brand new Bing AI (in preview), and that this helped enhance the figures of the search engine to comprehend the recent milestone.

Microsoft then goes on to say {that a} third of the “tens of millions of energetic customers” of the Bing AI are new to Bing, which reveals that the chatbot is driving people to the search engine, though there appears to be a component of confusion right here.

Is it a ‘million plus’ customers of the AI, or ‘tens of millions’? Whereas technically these aren’t contradictory statements, we don’t see why Microsoft didn’t simply name it ‘tens of millions’ in each instances as that clearly feels like extra. Like a few million, or just a few, even? Insert shoulder shrug right here.

At any fee, Microsoft additionally acknowledged the apparent fact that Bing continues to be a protracted outdated approach off the tempo in comparison with Google: “This [100 million] is a surprisingly notable determine, and but we’re absolutely conscious we stay a small, low, single digit share participant. That stated, it feels good to be on the dance!”

Evaluation: Can this progress be sustained?

Let’s face it: Bing AI isn’t only a chatbot. It’s a automobile to assist Bing problem Google, and one which Microsoft hopes will likely be swiftly shifting up by way of the gears to realize momentum.

This isn’t nearly pushing for market share with the Bing search engine both, it’s additionally a line of assault for the Edge browser, as we’ve already seen with the taskbar implementation of the Bing AI in Home windows 11: an icon that linked by way of to the Bing web page, opening it up in Edge.

(Word that after the frustration round this, and the way in which Microsoft made it appear to be the AI was built-in into the taskbar, somewhat than simply being a hyperlink, the Bing icon has vanished from the search field for now, although we’re informed will probably be returning periodically).

Anyway, we will see that Microsoft’s plan is working to this point, with the Bing AI preview efficiently recruiting common customers so as to add to the ranks of Bing searchers – and dollop of them – however will this state of affairs final?

We’re uncertain. You see, the Bing chatbot is all shiny, new, and nonetheless very a lot an object of curiosity proper now. It had a severe pull to start with, as you’d anticipate from new tech, and that curiosity has been carried by way of with measures just like the latest introduction of a trio of personalities to experiment with, in addition to numerous limits Microsoft had beforehand imposed on chats being lifted.

And likely there’s nonetheless leisure available prodding the AI, attempting to interact with it utilizing completely different angles – humor inevitably being one among them – and customarily messing with the chatbot. That gained’t final, although.

Don’t get us unsuitable, there will likely be severe customers of the Bing bot on the market, after all, however we’d think about a sizeable chunk of the early attraction comes from the curious or mischievous.

And in that respect, preliminary figures aren’t actually a yardstick of how a lot affect the ‘new Bing’ as Microsoft calls it can make. If progress is sustained, and the AI is meaningfully honed and improved over the following few months, we will come again and speak about a brand new wave of adoption for Bing.

Till then, we stay skeptical, and our general feeling is that Microsoft has opened the doorways too early on this one. We’re unsure the AI goes to be properly tuned sufficient to significantly impress in the way in which it ought to for a while but, nevertheless it’s straightforward to see why Microsoft was eager to launch. It wants all of the weaponry it will possibly muster within the battle towards Google (and Chrome for that matter), and the latter firm is forging forward with its personal AI tech (Bard).

Through MS Energy Consumer (opens in new tab)