Microsoft’s plan to restrict Bing search access for AI chatbot rivals

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Microsoft’s plan to restrict Bing search access for AI chatbot rivals (Image: pixabay.com)
Microsoft’s plan to restrict Bing search access for AI chatbot rivals (Image: pixabay.com)

Delhi : Microsoft is taking action against Bing-powered search engines exploiting its search data to fuel their AI chatbots. Bloomberg claims that the tech behemoth has warned two unnamed search engines that if they continue to use Bing's search data with their AI capabilities, Microsoft will completely prohibit their access to the information. Microsoft's action is perceived as an effort to limit access to its search data to Bing's chatbot, which is powered by OpenAI's GPT-4 language model and has the ability to answer queries, produce summaries, generate code, and post on social media.

While Microsoft grants licences to a number of search engines, such as DuckDuckGo, Yahoo, and You.com, for the use of Bing's search data, it appears to draw the line at the use of its data in AI chatbots, which it sees as a breach of its contract. According to insider sources familiar with the matter, Microsoft may decide to sever its ties to the search engines accused of abusing the data.

Although it's unclear which search engines Bloomberg is referring to in its article, it's important to note that You.com and Neeva both offer AI-powered tools that generate annotated summaries and answer users' questions, and DuckDuckGo recently launched a tool called DuckAssist. These tools provide AI-generated summaries for specific searches.

The functioning and capabilities of the chatbots powered by these search engines may be impacted by Microsoft's decision to limit the usage of Bing's search data in AI chatbots.

This Microsoft crackdown is significant because it emphasises the growing significance of AI chatbots in the landscape of search engines. There is an increasing need for access to top-notch search data as more businesses, like Google, release their own versions of OpenAI's ChatGPT chatbot. Microsoft may have a competitive advantage as a result of its choice to limit access to its search data as it works to differentiate its chatbot in a crowded field.

The broader AI industry may be impacted by this decision. It's unclear how this issue will turn out, but it serves as a reminder of how crucial access to high-quality data is to the advancement of AI systems.