Microsoft announces preview release of new Bing and Edge mobile apps, 'AI-powered Bing for Skype'

It’s official, Microsoft is now bringing the power of ChatGPT even to mobile. Today, the software giant confirmed the arrival of the new AI-powered Bing preview experience to Bing and Edge mobile apps alongside new capabilities like voice input. In addition to this announcement, the company said Skype is getting a new chat experience, which will also benefit from the advancement of its continuous AI investments.

The arrival of the new ChatGPT experience to the mobile version of Bing and Edge is not much of a surprise for many. Recently, leaks shared by different early testers showed that Microsoft released UI for its new AI chatbot, featuring tone settings and other elements. At that time, many reported that the feature and overall experience were inaccessible. Nonetheless, the wait should be over now in today’s announcement of Microsoft.

According to Microsoft, the new Bing should now be available for iOS and Android as a preview release. It will be a revamped version of Bing, featuring a chat capability powered by OpenAI’s ChatGPT. It will be accessible via the Bing icon at the bottom of the screen of mobile devices. The company further noted that testers who have preview access can also use this new Bing experience now from the homepage of the Edge mobile app. A cherry on top of this announcement is the addition of the voice function in both the mobile and desktop versions of Bing.

Interestingly, the announcement also revealed a new “AI-powered Bing for Skype.” As Microsoft explained in this new product integration, ChatGPT will work like an assistant bot once it is added to a certain Skype group, which is a good thing as its use means optional for everyone. Microsoft confirmed it is now available worldwide as a preview today and mentioned plans soon to bring it to its other communication apps like Teams.

The features should be available “later today” to those on the Bing preview experience. Nonetheless, it is important to note that the experience is still far from being flawless. As pointed out by Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft’s corporate vice president and consumer chief marketing officer, users might encounter some connectivity problems.

“In the first few days of testing these mobile experiences, you may occasionally find connectivity issues in low-bandwidth situations,” Mehdi said. “We’re aware of the issue and are working on a fix.”

While the announcement might excite those in the preview, others might still have to wait a little longer. As the company mentioned, the Bing waitlist keeps expanding, which now includes millions of registrants. Despite this, Medhi assured everyone Microsoft is “working as fast as possible to onboard more people every day.”