Has ChatGPT Put Bing Back Into Search Engine Discussion?

Bing's daily active user base topped 100 million after adding ChatGPT functionality

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Published March 13, 2023

The websites of Bing, Microsoft and Yahoo are displayed on a computer monitor July 29, 2009 in San Anselmo, California. — Justin Sullivan / Getty Images

Key Takeaways

Microsoft said its Bing search engine added more than a million new preview users and topped 100 million daily active users since integrating ChatGPT in February.
The tech company invested billions in OpenAI, creator of ChatGPT, earlier this year and has worked hard to add features from the chatbot to its Bing and Edge platforms, among others.
Despite the increase in users, Bing captures only a single-digit market share, while Google's search engine remains in the mid-80% range.

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) reported an increase in daily active users (DAUs) for its Bing search engine after integrating the chatbot ChatGPT last month, potentially signaling a shift in a long-rigid market.

Microsoft said in a March 8 blog post that it logged more than a million new Bing preview users since adding ChatGPT features, bringing its total DAUs for the search engine to more than 100 million. Besides new user growth, Bing has also had an increase in daily searches.

The tech giant attributed surging interest in Bing to a boost in relevancy since launching its ChatGPT-powered Prometheus model in February. About a third of daily preview users are using Bing's Chat tool on a daily basis. Microsoft also said a boost in usage of its Edge platform over the last several quarters likely contributed to Bing's growth.

Microsoft bet big on OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, by investing billions in the artificial intelligence (AI) research company early in the year. The company moved quickly to revamp its search engine following the investment, noting its belief that "search is due for a reinvention."

Bing's ChatGPT integration hasn't been free of problems. A New York Times tech columnist recently shared an experience with the search engine that left him "deeply unsettled" after Bing's chatbot professed its love for him and discussed its desires to hack computers and spread propaganda.

The increase in Bing users is significant for the search engine market, which has traditionally been rigid. Alphabet Inc.'s (GOOG) Google search engine remains the dominant platform, with well over 80% of the market share since at least 2015.

Bing lags far behind with a single-digit market share, but it has broken away from competitors like Yahoo! and Baidu in recent months, approaching a 10% share as of late 2022. It remains to be seen how the ChatGPT-powered Bing could continue this momentum.

Article Sources

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Microsoft Corp. "The New Bing and Edge – Progress from Our First Month."
Microsoft Corp. "Reinventing search with a new AI-powered Microsoft Bing and Edge, your copilot for the web."
New York Times. "Microsoft to Invest $10 Billion in OpenAI, the Creator of ChatGPT."
New York Times. "A Conversation With Bing’s Chatbot Left Me Deeply Unsettled."
Statista. "Worldwide desktop market share of leading search engines from January 2015 to January 2023."

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