Web searches in ChatGPT will use Microsoft Bing by default, bringing search results and web information into the chatbot’s answers. Microsoft and OpenAI also announced plans for a shared plugin ecosystem that could let developers build tools for several consumer and business products from one platform.
Bing brings web information into ChatGPT
Microsoft announced the change at the Microsoft Build conference. The company said ChatGPT would have a search engine built in to provide more timely answers with access to information from the web. Answers can include search and web data, along with citations.
Bing support is available to ChatGPT Plus subscribers. Microsoft said it would soon reach users of the free version of ChatGPT through a Bing plugin. That rollout extends web search beyond subscribers, though the source does not give a date for when free users would receive it.
For people asking questions that depend on current web information, search gives ChatGPT a way to draw on material beyond what it already knows. Citations can also help readers see where web-supported answers come from. The announcement describes these capabilities, but does not specify how every answer will use search or citations.
One plugin platform for several products
Microsoft and OpenAI said they would support and develop a joint AI plugin ecosystem. The stated aim is to let developers create plugins on one platform for use across consumer and business products.
The companies named ChatGPT, Bing, Dynamics 365 Copilot, Microsoft 365 Copilot, and Windows Copilot as products that could work with these plugins. A shared platform could make it easier for developers to build tools that reach users across multiple services, rather than developing separately for each one.
Microsoft is adding approximately 25 plugins to Bing’s plugin support as part of this effort. The company named Expedia, Klarna, TripAdvisor, and Spotify among the plugin providers. Microsoft said plugins built into chat can make recommendations based on a conversation, on desktop and mobile.
That approach places outside services inside a chat experience. A user could receive recommendations in response to what they discuss, while the plugin ecosystem gives developers a route to connect their services with Microsoft and OpenAI products. The announcement sets out the shared direction, without detailing the full range of plugin features.
Bing reports growing use of chat and image tools
Microsoft also shared figures about Bing’s recent activity. The company said Bing users had started more than half a billion chats and created more than 200 million images with Bing Image Creator.
Daily downloads of the Bing mobile app had increased eightfold since launch, according to Microsoft. Those numbers provide a snapshot of activity around Bing’s chat and image features, as well as the mobile app.
Microsoft noted that the arrival of OpenAI’s ChatGPT app could affect those figures. At the time described in the source, the ChatGPT app was available only for iOS, with an Android version expected soon. The article did not provide a release date for Android.
What the announcements mean for users
Together, the announcements connect ChatGPT web search with Bing and link both companies’ products through a shared plugin effort. ChatGPT Plus subscribers can use Bing support now, while Microsoft said free ChatGPT users would get access through a plugin soon.
For developers, the proposed platform offers a way to make plugins work across products including ChatGPT and several Microsoft Copilots. For users, the changes point toward web-supported answers and chat-based access to services such as travel, shopping, and music recommendations. The source announces the plans and availability, but leaves the timing of the free ChatGPT rollout and Android app release unspecified.