Microsoft Windows 11 update puts Bing with AI front and center | CNN Business

CNN
—

Microsoft will roll out a Windows 11 update on Tuesday that brings its new AI-powered Bing capabilities to the forefront of its taskbar, one of the operating system’s most-used features, in the latest sign that the company is doubling down the technology despite some recent controversies.

With the update, the AI ​​tool will be accessible from the Windows search box, allowing users to directly access files, settings, and make web queries. The taskbar has more than half a million users each month, according to the company, making it prime real estate to expose more users to the new feature. (A preview version of the AI ​​tool remains available on a limited basis.)

Earlier this month, Microsoft said it was looking into ways to rein in Bing’s AI chatbot after users highlighted answers that ranged from inaccurate to emotionally reactive. Despite those early hiccups, the company told CNN “overall, we feel really good about the product experience for people” and it’s still learning from feedback.

“Artificial intelligence itself is being reinvented right now … and it’s just the beginning,” Microsoft chief product officer Panos Panay told CNN ahead of Tuesday’s launch. He compared the AI ​​changes coming to the PC to how the keyboard and mouse changed the way we interact with computers.

However, only users of the new Bing Preview will have access to its additional AI capabilities out of the gate. The company said it will roll out the functionality slowly to people who have signed up for the Windows Insider program. “We want to expand this thoughtfully and responsibly,” Panay said.

Last year, Microsoft unveiled several AI-powered Windows 11 features, including quieting background noise like lawnmowers and crying babies in video calls, and automatic framing for the camera to follow the movements of the speaker. It also automated some of its accessibility tools, such as live video captioning.

Their efforts around AI have only grown. Earlier this year, Microsoft confirmed that it is making a “multi-billion dollar” investment in OpenAI, the company behind the viral AI chatbot tool ChatGPT. Microsoft launched its AI chat tool in early February; Since then, a million people have tried it in 169 countries, according to Microsoft. The company has since expanded it to the Bing and Edge browser and Skype mobile apps.

But adding it to the Windows search bar is a big vote of confidence from the company and reflects its greater effort to “apply to AI,” according to Patrick Moorhead, president and principal analyst at Moore Insights and Strategy .

Bing integration is just one of several notable updates coming to Windows 11. Microsoft is also taking steps to improve the Windows experience for Apple and Samsung users.

Apple users will now be able to receive iOS alerts and messages directly on their Windows 11 devices, potentially reducing Apple’s closed ecosystem. (Android users have been able to receive messages on Windows devices since 2018.) However, the new iOS support doesn’t work for replying to group iMessages or sending media such as photos and videos to messages.

Microsoft said its move to add iOS Messages to PCs wasn’t done directly in partnership with Apple; instead, it is done via Bluetooth technology. Moorhead said Apple “has been very reluctant to open up its iMessage APIs to vendors like Microsoft, which could improve the Windows experience.”

“That’s what customers need and want, so we designed it to make sure it was there for our users on the Microsoft side,” Panay said. “I know our customers need their iPhones to work on their computer, and I do [want] do everything possible to help them do that.”

For Samsung device users, Microsoft makes it easy to turn on your phone’s personal hotspot with a single click from your computer’s list of Wi-Fi networks. It also adds a recent websites feature that allows users to transfer browser sessions from their smartphone to their Windows PC.