Microsoft has revealed a fresh, interactive feature for Bing Chat, the chat-based variant of its Bing search engine powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI). From now on, users can utilize voice commands to communicate with Bing Chat.
A shift to voice interaction
The introduction of voice interaction simplifies user engagement. By clicking the microphone icon in Bing Chat, users can vocalize their queries instead of typing them out. “For those who love using voice input for chat on Mobile, it’s now also available on desktop,” announced the Bing Team.
As of now, Bing Chat recognizes English, Japanese, French, German, and Mandarin, with more languages set to be added soon. Alongside understanding user voice commands, Bing Chat also offers text-to-speech answers for those who prefer auditory responses.
More visual search and extended chat limits
This week, Bing Chat also integrated the Bing Image Creator into all chat modes, expanding visual search capabilities. Especially for travel-related inquiries, Bing Chat will generate more visually enriched results with detailed information sourced from Bing Travel.
Furthermore, Microsoft has increased the maximum turns allowed in a single Bing Chat conversation from 20 to 30, and the total daily turns have been significantly bumped up to 300. These updates apply to both current and previous chat sessions, allowing users to revisit and resume past conversations that may have reached the old turn limit.
Bing Chat and Windows Copilot: The evolution of search
On February 7, Microsoft introduced Bing Chat alongside the new version of the Edge web browser with innovative sidebar Chat and Compose features. Bing Chat was later integrated into the Windows 11 search box with the Windows 11 22H2 ‘Moment 2’ update.
Simultaneously, Microsoft announced the discontinuation of standalone Cortana app support by late 2023. The AI-powered Windows Copilot, unveiled at this year’s Build conference, will take its place on Windows desktops.
What are your thoughts on these new developments? How do you anticipate using voice commands with Bing Chat? We welcome your thoughts and comments below!