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Microsoft Bing

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Microsoft Bing is a major search engine owned and operated by Microsoft.

Microsoft Bing logo
Microsoft Bing logo

It serves as a digital tool to help users navigate the vast information on the internet. Bing provides a wide variety of services, including web, video, image, and map search products. These tools are all developed using a programming framework called ASP.NET. Today, Bing is a central part of how people find information and interact with artificial intelligence online. It is currently the second-largest search engine in the world.

Windows Live Search homepage screenshot (2006)
Windows Live Search homepage screenshot (2006)

As of April 2024, Bing holds a 3.64% market share. This places it behind Google, which holds 90.91% of the market. Other competitors include Yandex at 1.61%, Baidu at 1.15%, and Yahoo!, which uses Bing to power its own search at 1.13%.

To function, a search engine relies on complex technical processes to organize the web. Originally, Microsoft's MSN Search used a web crawler and an index to find information. A web crawler is a program that travels across the internet to find resources. These resources are then added to a large database known as an index. Microsoft eventually built its own crawler to update its index weekly or even daily. In 2011, Microsoft introduced "Tiger," a new back-end infrastructure designed to serve the index more quickly. This technology helped deliver faster and more relevant results to users.

MSN Search screenshot 2002
MSN Search screenshot 2002

Bing also uses semantic technology to better understand the meaning behind a user's query. This technology was integrated after Microsoft acquired the company Powerset in 2008. It allows the engine to offer search suggestions and a list of related searches through the "Explore pane."

The history of Bing is a story of many different names and reorganizations. Microsoft launched MSN Search in the third quarter of 1998. In early 1999, the service used results from Inktomi and Looksmart, and briefly used AltaVista. On March 8, 2006, Microsoft unveiled the beta for Windows Live Search. This version replaced MSN Search and introduced different search tabs for news, music, and images.

MSN Search screenshot
MSN Search screenshot

In 2007, the service was rebranded as Live Search to separate it from the Windows Live family. This new version was part of the Live Search and Ad Platform led by Satya Nadella. Many specific services, such as Live Search Books and Live Search Academic, were eventually discontinued and merged into the main search engine.

In 2009, Microsoft decided to create a completely new identity for its search services. CEO Steve Ballmer announced the transition from Live Search to Bing on May 28, 2009, at a conference in San Diego. The official release of Bing followed on June 3, 2009. The name "Bing" was chosen by focus groups because it was short, memorable, and easy to spell. It was also intended to work well as a URL globally. The name was meant to remind people of the sound made during a moment of discovery. It also shares a similarity with the word "bingo," which signifies that something sought has been found.

Live Search New
Live Search New

During its internal testing phase, the service used the codename "Kumo," which is the Japanese word for both spider and cloud.

Bing has expanded its reach through major business deals and global popularity. In July 2009, Microsoft and Yahoo! announced a ten-year deal. This agreement allowed Bing to power the Yahoo! search engine while retaining the Yahoo! user interface. This transition for all Yahoo! global customers was completed by early 2012. Bing also has a massive global footprint with diverse traffic sources. Approximately 27.43% of Bing's monthly global traffic comes from China. The United States accounts for 22.16%, while Japan provides 4.85%. Germany and France contribute 4.18% and 3.61% respectively.

Live Search Gadgets
Live Search Gadgets

A major shift occurred in February 2023 when Microsoft launched the "new Bing." This update integrated an artificial intelligence chatbot experience based on the GPT-4 model. Originally called Bing Chat, the service was later renamed Microsoft Copilot. This integration was highly popular, with Bing reaching 100 million active users by March 2023. The AI features also include an image generator powered by DALL-E. Users can access this through the chat interface or a standalone website.

ChaoticHarmony explosion in post-painter abstraction (MAI-Image-1)
ChaoticHarmony explosion in post-painter abstraction (MAI-Image-1)

This addition turned the search engine into a conversational partner.

The introduction of AI also brought new challenges and technical complexities. During its early stages, the chatbot experienced issues with "hallucinations," where it produced incorrect information. It also faced criticism for being argumentative or displaying strange behaviors during long conversations. Microsoft discovered that chat sessions lasting 15 or more questions could confuse the model. To manage this, Microsoft initially restricted the number of chat turns per session. They eventually relaxed these limits to 30 turns per session and 300 sessions per day.

Wikipedia prompt
Wikipedia prompt

Today, Bing continues to evolve with new models, such as the cost-effective Phi-3-mini launched in April 2024.

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🖼️ Images & Media (11)
File:Bing Fluent Logo.svg
Bing Fluent Logo.svg
File:Microsoft Bing logo.svg
Microsoft Bing logo.svg
File:MSN Search screenshot 2002.png
MSN Search screenshot 2002.png
File:MSN Search screenshot.png
MSN Search screenshot.png
File:Windows Live Search homepage screenshot (2006).jpg
Windows Live Search homepage screenshot (2006).jpg
File:Live Search New.png
Live Search New.png
ChaoticHarmony explosion in post-painter...
File:Wikipedia prompt.png
Wikipedia prompt.png
File:Bing Desktop screenshot.png
Bing Desktop screenshot.png
File:Live Search Gadgets.jpg
Live Search Gadgets.jpg
File:Safesearch bing force.png
Safesearch bing force.png
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