Bing's Latest AI Changes Make Search Results More Useful

AI is seeping into everything imaginable, especially our web search results. Following Google's footsteps, Microsoft is overhauling the Bing search results page with AI-generated content.

Previewed in a recent Bing Blogs post, Microsoft's new search experience leverages generative AI and large language models to supplement the normal search results page. Instead of displaying just the typical links we're used to, AI automatically expands the query to provide extra information you might be interested in.

Large and small language models are used to create the new experience. It reads and understands your search, and then, according to Microsoft, it reviews millions of sources to build a custom, AI-generated results page to "fulfill the intent of the user’s query more effectively."

One example can be seen by searching for "how long can elephants live." The primary query is answered right away, with sources provided for more information. Similar details are summarized below that, like factors that affect their lifespan, details on the oldest elephants, etc. There's also a new table of contents to the left for navigating the results quickly, and all the normal, non-AI-generated results are still available on the right.

A big question is how this affects publishers. Microsoft says that according to early data, click-through rates remain stable, and since the traditional search results aren't going away and references will appear next to the results, the new search experience actually increases the number of clickable links on Bing.

Depending on your query, you'll either see the new results page or you won't; there isn't a way to toggle it on. Microsoft says it will roll out more broadly over time. Here's another example you can check out in the meantime.