Windows adds Bing to taskbar🖥️, ChatGPT controls robots🕹, Snap announces chatbot🤖
Microsoft executes quickly while Google maintains radio silence
← Please smash the ❤️ right above here and let’s get to the news:
1. Microsoft adds new Bing GPT into Windows 11 taskbar
(2 min read) 1M+ people from 169 countries are now testing the new Bing. Microsoft plans to roll out the AI-powered Bing to “hundreds of millions of Windows 11 users” via their Windows taskbar. Microsoft claims that the search box is used by 500M+ users every month. CPO commentary on MSFT blog.
More:
New Bing is now available in Bing mobile app and via Edge browser for Android/iOS
You can now also use voice input to interact with Bing’s chat mode
Integration with Skype allows you to bring Bing into a text conversation to add additional information
Thoughts: Spotlight, the “search-everything” iOS solution, already serves as the beginning for a large number of ‘user start’ sessions (think about how you start your own user journeys on the iPhone). Microsoft is hoping to achieve a similar effect using its largest adjacent driver of user journey starts. If it can shift user behavior such that search queries are typed into the taskbar, bypassing Chrome or Google.com, it can get additional chances to convert those users into loyal Bing-ers. Of course, the new Bing experience has to actually seal that deal by delivering next-level search results…
Additionally, Bing is still only available on Microsoft’s Edge browser, despite the fact that most internet search (and most browser usage) happens inside Chrome. This dissonance will likely continue to foster a sub-par experience for new Bing users. Microsoft will have to eventually make a compelling Bing experience on Chrome. Otherwise, it will be fighting two uphill battles: one to be top of mind at the moment of search and another against user-preferred browser choice.
2. Robots let ChatGPT touch the real world thanks to Microsoft
(3 min read) Microsoft researchers announced an experimental framework to control robots and drones using the language abilities of ChatGPT, a popular AI language model created by OpenAI. Using natural language commands, ChatGPT can write special code that controls robot movements.
Thoughts: This seems to be the next baby step towards conversational interactions with robots. What this example does NOT demonstrate is humans speaking with robots or vice versa (so not quite Skynet yet). Instead, the researchers give ChatGPT verbal prompts for desired robot actions and ChatGPT then writes the code that gets loaded into the robot. This may seem like a semantic difference, but an important one nonetheless. Additionally, a low level function library was created by humans to make sure the baseline functionality is well defined and there was always human verification of ChatGPT generated code.
more in the Microsoft blog post
3. Snapchat is releasing its own AI chatbot powered by ChatGPT
(4 min read) Snapchat is introducing a chatbot powered by the latest version of OpenAI’s ChatGPT. According to CEO Evan Spiegel, it’s a bet that AI chatbots will increasingly become a part of everyday life for more people.
Thoughts: Don’t have anyone to talk to on Snapchat? Try an AI bot! Not exactly clear where this is headed for Snap. Maybe it’s just a shiny toy to drive paid subscriptions. Maybe the data gathered will help inform future app development. Or maybe Snap is hedging its bets that future consumers will become attached to their favorite new-age AI assistants and wants to make sure they have similar functionality within its social network.
4. ChatGPT behind influx of AI-written books on Amazon
(3 min read) Wannabe novelists who don’t want to put in the time or effort to create their literary masterpiece are turning to ChatGPT for help.
Thoughts: I suppose we all saw this one coming. The real question is how long it takes for one of these to hit it big (and whether the “author” will admit it).
5. Apple Blocks Update of ChatGPT-Powered App, as Concerns Grow Over AI’s Potential Harm
(6 min read) Email app BlueMail submitted a generative AI feature in its latest update to the App Store. Apple asked BlueMail to set a 17+ age restriction or “include content filtering” for its AI-generated content. The app’s current age restriction is 4+.
Thoughts: Interesting to see this new App Store requirement surface now that Bing GPT and other LLMs are in the wild. Looks like Apple is again taking a “wait and see” approach to all the generative AI sprouting up, while quietly erecting barriers to prevent potential user harm in their ecosystem.