Microsoft rolls out Bing's new tone controls today

We’ve been hard at work tweaking dials so you can chat with the new Bing however you’d like. Starting today, some users will see the ability to choose a style that is more Precise ?, Balanced ????, or Creative ?.

Let us know what you think by using the ? & ? in each response. pic.twitter.com/OyCI2y3eT6

— Mike Davidson ? (@mikeindustries) February 24, 2023

The new ChatGPT-powered Bing continues to improve as Microsoft delivers more and more features and improvements to the creation each day. One of the latest things to try on the new intelligent search engine now is its chatbot’s new tone settings, which are rolling out today.

The news was confirmed by Microsoft’s new corporate vice president of design and research, Mike Davidson, this Saturday.

“We’ve been hard at work tweaking dials so you can chat with the new Bing however you’d like,” Davidson announced in a tweet. “Starting today, some users will see the ability to choose a style that is more Precise, Balanced, or Creative.”

The feature was first spotted by users days ago when Microsoft rolled out the mobile UI of Bing to some users. Many noted that while the UI clearly shows the tone settings, they were not yet available at that time. Now, this should be accessible, giving users the option to tweak the Bing chatbot according to the tone of the response they want to receive. 

During its early appearance, some believed that the tones would bring the old setting of Sydney, which undeniably became scandalous due to a series of reports revealing its odd behavior. Nonetheless, an early tester turned down the idea, saying it is just “basically a mode where it can provide creative outputs without a personality and showing ’emotions.'” Davidson also described the settings in one of his conversations with Twitter users.

“These controls essentially just adjust how grounded (Precise) the answers are,” explained Davidson. “The more grounded you get though, the less interesting the conversation often is.”

Until now, some are still hoping to access the old Bing, which is described as the “lobotomized” Sydney by others. However, as we pointed out in one of our recent articles, having access to the same old Bing might be impossible as continuous improvement is one of Microsoft’s visions for the creation (apart from the company’s serious efforts to stay away from troubles). Interestingly, in one of Davidson’s responses in the announcement thread, Davidson seems to imply that the tone features might just be temporary for Bing.

“Personally I do not think we will need these controls at all once we’ve improved the training,” said Davidson.

If Davidson’s statement is to be believed, the company wants a Bing capable of independently detecting the right tone it will use to respond to queries in the future. Nonetheless, this might still be a far journey for Microsoft as Bing is still in its early stage. And since the company is still in the process of perfecting Bing, it is hard to determine the future of these tone controls. One thing is for sure, though: the longevity of these tone settings on Bing will be determined by the testers’ feedback.

That said, are you one of these testers who already have access to Bing’s new tone controls? Tell us about your experience.