Bing Chat, the ChatGPT-infused search engine preview that’s all the rage right now, is now available on your iPhone and Android phone, and I find it to be just as much of a wild experience as it does on the desktop.
Actually, it’s wilder. Unlike desktop, mobile ChatGPT Bing adds a special component of speech. That’s right, Bing will talk to you. Ironically, the most interesting thing Microsoft has done in years is also reflecting on the company’s last Quixotic attempt at voice assistant Cortana.
You remember Cortana, right?if you played halo, then you have at least a rough idea of the AI assistant that helps the Master Chief navigate his world. The fictional AI character is so popular that Microsoft adopted the moniker as a codename for its real-world AI assistant, and kept the name when it launched a decade ago.
Cortana never lived up to its AI promise and was eventually deprecated and eventually removed from Microsoft products.
Another Opportunity for Voice AI
Now we have a new AI voice chatbot from Microsoft and OpenAi (via a modified version of ChatGPT) that doesn’t have a name of its own, it just exists in Bing.
Still, knowing Microsoft’s history and spending two weeks playing Bing Chat on my desktop, I couldn’t resist using Bing mobile for speech-to-speech.
I redownloaded the Bing search app, a piece of mobile software I hadn’t touched in years.
While the desktop puts the big “Ask me anything…” prompt window front and center, I had to select the small “b” icon at the bottom of the Bing app screen to access the AI-powered chat.
Once installed, you still need to decide whether you want the app to track you (I always say “no”) and allow it access to your microphone so Bing can hear your queries (say “yes”).
It’s weird, but I have something called AI anxiety. When faced with an AI that prompted me to “ask any question,” I froze and couldn’t think of a good question.
help on the go
I finally decided, “Bing, write me a haiku about using an iPhone,” and I said that to the app.
Note that you don’t have to start with “Bing”. That’s not a slogan, activating ChatGPT AI-powered Bing requires pressing the Bing button.
It took quite a while for Bing to respond. One thing I’ve noticed is that Bing also says what it’s searching for based on your query. It’s pedantic, but it’s also useful when you hear that Bing has been misunderstood and you want to stop Bing from searching.
Moments later, Bing recites the original haiku in a female voice that sounds a bit like Cortana:
on iPhone screen
information world
Bing is here to help
Well, yes, it hits the 5-7-5 syllable limit per line of haiku.
Next, I asked Bing to prepare a romantic dinner for two featuring seafood and rice. The only caveat is that the prep time must be under 30 minutes.
After waiting for a long time, Bing Chat told me two recipes and asked me which one I like. It’s here, though, that something goes wrong with the dialogue. Instead of leaving the mic on to receive my response, I found I had to press the mic button again. After doing so, I told Bing that I selected “Second.” Then Bing graciously provided the salmon and rice recipe, which read it in full if I wanted to.
Finally, I asked the Bing AI chat to play a game of Tic-Tac-Toe with me.
Bing happily agreed, and showed a full-text board, and played the first “X” without asking me. Every time any of us makes a move, it announces the board, not only where the “X” and “O” are, but also the dashes and plus signs it uses to make it. Well, I can live with that embarrassment for now.
After a few moves, I’m ready to stop the Bing AI from chatting for victory. Unfortunately, Bing cheated and insisted it won, even though the board showed it didn’t.
Aside from the rough game action, Bing AI’s mobile version is more engaging. If Microsoft wants it to be a true conversational AI and rival Siri and Alexa, it still needs to improve speed. Otherwise, Cortana might have paid for her digital life for nothing.
