Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) has updated its search features for Bing that should bring a more conversational aspect to search queries through the help of AI.
Now, when people type in questions to the Bing search bar, the search engine will bring up answers that are backed by several different websites. Any topic that has various opinions on it will get answers from both sides so people can see the broader scope of the discussion and those topics requiring multiple answers will also receive them.
The answers given by Bing should also now be easier to understand, with comparisons to things that are more common knowledge.
Jake Hofman, a senior researcher at Microsoft, explained, “We want to reduce the number of times that people read a number and can’t make sense of it. And we want to do that by providing some context, or an analogy, or perspective, that puts it in more familiar terms usually related to their everyday experience.”
Microsoft will also be broadening Bing’s comparison answers, to reach further than the current solo ability for product comparisons. People will be able to compare the difference between jogging on a treadmill and jogging on a turf track, for example.
If a question is broad or conversational, then Bing will be able to ask the user clarifying questions in order to better refine the search for them.
The updated search features will also apply to image searches, which will be able to bring up more specific images based on the user’s search.
Bing has also teamed up with Reddit to bring Reddit threads to Bing’s search pages. Users will be able to search for Reddit threads directly with greater ease, and any questions they ask that can be answered via a Reddit thread will also link that Reddit thread to them.
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