What you need to know
- A new Bing powered by ChatGPT was recently announced by Microsoft.
- Microsoft shared that the wait list for the search engine now has millions of people on it.
- You can move your name up the wait list by setting Bing and Edge as your defaults and installing the Bing Mobile app on your phone.
Microsoft announced the new Bing with ChatGPT earlier this month. Within 48 hours over one million people signed up to try the search engine. Now, Microsoft has shared that the wait list has "multiple millions" of people on it.
Corporate Vice President & Consumer Chief Marketing Officer at Microsoft Yusuf Mehdi discussed the interest the new Bing has received since it was announced. He also detailed how the waiting list for the search engine works:
"Hey all! There have been a few questions about our waitlist to try the new Bing, so here’s a reminder about the process:
We’re currently in Limited Preview so that we can test, learn, and improve. We’re slowly scaling people off the waitlist daily.
If you’re on the waitlist, just hang tight. As we said at launch, we intend to scale to millions of people beginning in the coming weeks. We’re only one week in!
We are prioritizing those with Bing and Edge as their default search engine & browser as well as the Bing Mobile app installed to optimize the initial experience. Over time we intend to bring it to all browsers.
Demand is high with multiple millions now on the waitlist. So we ask for a little patience if you just joined the waitlist.
We’re now testing with people in 169 countries and seeing a lot of engagement with new features like Chat. We can’t wait for you to try it!"
Microsoft was clear from the beginning that it would roll out access to Bing in waves. The search engine is still in its early preview stages, so Microsoft is focusing on receiving feedback and scaling things at a maintainable pace. The company plans to have millions of people test the new Bing within the first few weeks of its preview period.
Our guide on how to sign up for the new Bing powered by ChatGPT goes through all of the steps you need to take to try out the search engine. It also includes screenshots on how to move your name up the wait list by doing the steps Mehdi discussed on Twitter.
Windows Central take
This is the most attention that Bing has seen in recent memory, if not ever. Millions of people have signed up to try the service and Bing has been covered by a vast range of news sites. The focus on Bing is, however, a double-edged sword for Microsoft.
On one hand, Microsoft is set to make a fortune if the new Bing takes off. For every one percentage point Bing gains in search market share, Microsoft is set to make $2 billion annually. But placing an AI tool in the hands of millions of people can lead to bad headlines.
Google lost $100 billion in market cap when Bard, its competitor to ChatGPT, made mistakes during a demo. ChatGPT actually made mistakes during its demo as well, though that hasn't gained as much attention.
AI that's trained and programmed correctly improves quickly. Microsoft will likely use this preview period as a chance to run ChatGPT through the paces in the real world. By the time the tool becomes generally available, it's safe to assume it will be much better than it is today.
