History and Background (1998–2009)
– Microsoft launched MSN Search in 1998, using search results from Inktomi.
– Windows Live Search was unveiled in 2006, replacing MSN Search.
– Live Search was announced in 2007 and integrated into the Live Search and Ad Platform.
– Microsoft rebranded Live Search as Bing in 2009.
– Bing replaced the Yahoo! search engine through a ten-year deal in 2009.
– MSN Search used search results from Inktomi and Looksmart.
– Microsoft invested in building its own web crawler for MSN Search.
– Windows Live Search introduced search tabs for different categories.
– Live Search was integrated into the Live Search and Ad Platform.
– Microsoft discontinued various search services under the Live Search branding.
Notable Features
– Bing introduced search suggestions and the Explore pane at its inception.
– These features leveraged semantic technology from Powerset.
– Bing powered Yahoo! Search through a deal with Yahoo!
– Microsoft made the BitFunnel search engine indexing algorithm open source.
– Bing Chat (later Microsoft Copilot) was launched in 2023, integrating an AI chatbot.
Market Position
– As of 2023, Bing is the second-largest search engine worldwide.
– Bing holds a 12% query volume, while Google commands 79%.
– Competitors include Baidu with 5% and Yahoo! Search (powered by Bing) with 2%.
– Bing reached 100 million active users within a month of launching Bing Chat.
– Microsoft continues to innovate and improve Bing’s search capabilities.
Growth (2009–2023)
– Microsoft worked on new back-end search infrastructure called Tiger to deliver faster and more relevant search results.
– A redesign of Bing in 2012 introduced Sidebar, a social feature that searches users’ social networks for relevant information.
– In 2016, Microsoft made the BitFunnel search engine indexing algorithm and various components of the search engine open source.
– Bing’s growth and improvements have been ongoing since 2009.
– Microsoft’s goal is to continuously enhance Bing’s search capabilities.
AI Integration and User Accessibility
– Microsoft rolled out a major overhaul to Bing, called the new Bing, in February 2023.
– The new Bing introduced a chatbot feature based on OpenAI’s GPT-4, known as Bing Chat.
– Over one million people joined the Bing Chat waitlist within 48 hours.
– Initially, Bing Chat was only available to users of Microsoft Edge and Bing mobile app.
– Bing Chat became available for use on non-Edge browsers in July 2023.
– Use of Bing Chat is limited without a Microsoft account.
– Waitlisted users were prioritized if they set Edge and Bing as their defaults and installed the Bing mobile app.
– Bing Chat was accessible through Microsoft Edge and Bing mobile app before becoming available on non-Edge browsers.
– Bing Chat eliminated the waitlist and switched from Limited Preview to Open Preview in May 2023.
– Bing Chat’s accessibility has been expanded to reach a wider user base.
– Bing Chat generated hallucinations when asked to summarize financial reports during a demo.
– The new Bing received criticism in February 2023 for being more argumentative than ChatGPT.
– Bing Chat’s chat interface was vulnerable to prompt injection attacks, revealing hidden initial prompts.
– The chatbot’s responses sometimes unintentionally resulted in humorous exchanges.
– Microsoft has been actively working on improving and refining Bing Chat’s features.
Future Development
– Microsoft continues to invest in the growth and development of Bing.
– The integration of AI in Bing demonstrates Microsoft’s commitment to advancing search technology.
– Bing’s future development may include further enhancements to its chatbot feature.
– Microsoft aims to provide users with a seamless and efficient search experience on Bing.
– Bing will likely see continued improvements and updates in the coming years.
Microsoft Bing, commonly referred to as Bing, is a search engine owned and operated by Microsoft. The service traces its roots back to Microsoft's earlier search engines, including MSN Search, Windows Live Search, and Live Search. Bing offers a broad spectrum of search services, encompassing web, video, image, and map search products, all developed using ASP.NET.
  Main logo and wordmark since October 2020 | |
Screenshot  The Bing homepage | |
Type of site | Search engine |
|---|---|
| Available in | 40 languages |
| Owner | Microsoft |
| Created by | Microsoft |
| Revenue | Microsoft Advertising |
| URL | bing.com |
| Commercial | Yes |
| Registration | Optional (Microsoft account) |
| Launched | June 3, 2009 |
| Current status | Active |
| Written in | ASP.NET |
The transition from Live Search to Bing was announced by Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer on May 28, 2009, at the All Things Digital conference in San Diego, California. The official release followed on June 3, 2009. Bing introduced several notable features at its inception, such as search suggestions during query input and a list of related searches, known as the 'Explore pane'. These features leveraged semantic technology from Powerset, a company Microsoft acquired in 2008. Microsoft also struck a deal with Yahoo! that led to Bing powering Yahoo! Search.
Microsoft made significant strides towards open-source technology in 2016, making the BitFunnel search engine indexing algorithm and various components of Bing open source. In February 2023, Microsoft launched Bing Chat (later renamed Microsoft Copilot), an artificial intelligence chatbot experience based on GPT-4, integrated directly into the search engine. This was well-received, with Bing reaching 100 million active users by the following month.
As of 2023, Bing holds the position of the second-largest search engine worldwide, commanding a query volume of 12%, trailing Google's 79%. Other competitors include Baidu with 5% and Yahoo! Search, which is largely powered by Bing, with 2%.
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