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Microsoft’s 2023 Bing preview combined web search with conversational AI: it generated answers with links to sources, let users ask follow-up questions, and added chat and writing tools to the Edge sidebar. The experience was designed to help with tasks such as planning a trip, comparing products, summarizing a report, and drafting an email—not simply to return a list of links. This is a historical look at the preview announced in 2023, not a walkthrough of Bing’s interface or availability in 2026.
What made Bing feel like ChatGPT?
The central idea was to make search conversational. Instead of issuing a string of separate keyword searches, a user could ask a complex question, read a generated response, and refine it with follow-up questions. Microsoft said answers included links to web sources, connecting the conversation to material readers could inspect.
That made the 2023 preview different in emphasis from a blank chatbot: Bing paired generated text with its search experience, while Edge placed related tools alongside the web page a user was viewing. Microsoft described the launch as using a next-generation OpenAI model customized for search alongside its Prometheus system; that was the company’s account of the technology, not an independent performance comparison. The February 7 announcement did not name the launch model as GPT-4.
How the search and chat experience worked
Ask, read, and follow up
A user could ask a natural-language question and receive a more complete generated answer alongside the familiar search experience. Follow-ups let the user narrow or extend the request without starting over with a new set of keywords. For example, someone researching a television could ask for recommendations and then clarify preferences in the same conversation.
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Use citations as a route to verification
Microsoft said generated answers linked to web sources. Those links were useful starting points for checking a claim, but they did not guarantee that the response was correct, complete, or current. Open the underlying page and check its date, especially for changing information.
What Edge’s sidebar added
Microsoft presented Edge as part of the Bing experience, not just a browser in which to open search results. Its sidebar included chat and compose functions that could work alongside a page. The company’s examples included summarizing a long report, comparing information, and drafting text with requested changes to tone, format, or length.
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- Summarize: Condense a long document or report into a shorter overview.
- Ask about material: Use the browsing context to explore information and compare details.
- Compose: Draft text, such as an email, and specify its tone, format, or length.
Microsoft also illustrated the broader search-and-chat pitch with requests such as “help me plan a trip” and asking whether an Ikea Klippan loveseat would fit in a 2019 Honda Odyssey. These were company examples, not measured evidence about the most common user queries.
How the preview changed during 2023
The label “new Bing” referred to a product preview that changed over several months. Microsoft’s announcements describe what it launched or planned at the time; they do not establish what is available in Bing today.
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| Date | What Microsoft announced or reported |
|---|---|
| February 7, 2023 | Microsoft introduced the Bing and Edge AI experience, including generated search answers, follow-up chat, source links, content generation, and Edge sidebar chat and compose. |
| February 15, 2023 | Microsoft described early feedback and acknowledged that the system could struggle with highly time-sensitive questions, including live sports scores. |
| February 22, 2023 | Microsoft announced the rollout of Bing and Edge mobile apps with voice input and described Bing in Skype group chats. These were preview-era announcements, not confirmation of current availability. |
| May 4, 2023 | Microsoft announced Open Preview and a set of additions or rollouts, including visual answers, chat history, persistent chats in Edge, sharing and export, longer-document summaries, Edge actions, compose adjustments, and visual search. The post described some changes as upcoming or rolling out, not as universally available. |
| May 2023 | Microsoft announced a shared plugin platform and named services including OpenTable, Wolfram|Alpha, Expedia, Instacart, Kayak, Klarna, Redfin, TripAdvisor, and Zillow. This is historical information, not evidence those integrations remain available. |
Microsoft also reported more than 500 million chats in the first 90 days, more than 200 million Bing Image Creator images in that period, and more than 100 million daily active Bing users in its May 2023 update. These are company-reported figures from that announcement, not independent measurements or current usage statistics. In its February mobile announcement, Microsoft said 64% of searches occurred on mobile phones as its rationale for expanding mobile access; that figure should likewise be understood as the company’s stated rationale at the time, not a verified current statistic.
Where the experience could fall short
Microsoft’s February 15, 2023 first-week account explicitly noted difficulty with timely questions such as live sports scores. This illustrates a broader caution with rapidly changing facts: a generated answer can be stale even when it includes source links. For current scores, schedules, prices, or breaking developments, check a live primary source rather than relying on a summary.
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- A 15" TOUCHSCREEN YOU'LL ACTUALLY USE — Sharp colors, real detail, smooth 120Hz scrolling on the PixelSense touchscreen[1] with LCD display[2]. Tap, scroll, or pinch to zoom - whichever feels right for streaming, editing photos, or daily work.
- 19 HOURS OF BATTERY (LEAVE THE CHARGER) — Up to 19 hours of video playback[3] on a single charge. Work from a coffee shop, take it to class/work, or binge an entire season on a long flight — it'll keep up.
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Microsoft also said that 71% of early testers gave the new Bing’s search and answer capabilities a thumbs-up. That was a company-reported early-feedback figure, not an independent quality assessment. It does not establish that Bing was categorically more accurate than ChatGPT or that every answer was dependable.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What to take away from the 2023 preview
Bing’s ChatGPT-like feature was a combination of conversational follow-up, search-linked answers, and in-browser assistance through Edge. The most useful distinction was the workflow: search and chat could build on one another, while the Edge sidebar was pitched for summarizing, asking about, or drafting alongside web content. Its citations offered a way to check answers, not a substitute for checking them. Because the feature set and access changed during the 2023 preview, this description should not be treated as a current product guide.
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- Power that lasts all day – With 20 hours of battery life[3], the new Surface Laptop powers through your entire day, so you can create, work and stream from morning to night without reaching for a charger.
- Work at the speed of your ideas – Built with the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon X2 Elite (12 Core) processors, Surface Laptop delivers fast, AI‑accelerated performance—making it the most powerful Surface laptop for everything from multitasking to demanding workloads.
- The ports you need – Charge on-the-go, transfer data fast, or create the ultimate desktop set up with two USB-C / USB4[4] ports.
- Built-in AI Companion – Work smarter, create freely, and communicate with confidence—Copilot[5] on Windows 11 is always there to help.
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
