I’ve been using the new Bing and Microsoft Edge browser for a week,
and I’m very impressed. So in this video, I want to show you what it can do.
Nobody’s really used Bing so much before.
But now things are looking different. Microsoft recently announced the new
Bing with AI. They call it not just a search engine, but a research assistant,
personal planner and creative partner at your side whenever you search the web.
You may think “oh it’s just a web browser plus ChatGPT”, but it’s a little different
and perhaps even more powerful in the way that the new Bing is faster and more
accurate because it can update itself with the latest news and information from the internet,
whereas ChatGPT knows only what happened before 2021. But still,
it does make some mistakes and generate false information. But I’ll get into that later.
Incidentally, Microsoft Edge might become one of the hottest apps of this
year because it works best with the new Bing since they are both from Microsoft.
Anyway, let’s have a look at the new Bing and Edge browser.
I like the new design of Bing. I can't quite remember what it looked like before because I
hadn’t used it for a long time. But now it says “ask me anything” on the search bar in order to
encourage you to write your search query as if you’re talking to an actual person.
When you perform a query, you will see this standard search results screen just like in
Google. But the major difference is that it also automatically generates a response from
AI on the right column. But this only happens occasionally, and you can tweak how often you
want to see the AI response alongside the search results. So if you don't see it,
you can access it from this Chat tab. Or you can simply scroll up to start a conversation.
What’s amazing is that the new AI can now go through the search results and web pages,
and then generate a response for you. And this is what I love the most. The response
comes with references so you know exactly where its answer came from. With ChatGPT,
it was different because you could’t see the references, so it was hard to
check whether what it says is correct or not. But with Bing, it’s a little easier.
Also, the fact that it can see the latest information from the internet
means it knows about what happened after 2021 unlike ChatGPT which was one of its
weaknesses. So you can even ask about the Qatar World Cup or this year’s Super Bowl.
By the way, it understands many languages too. I tried it with Japanese and it did
a pretty good job. Although it might not be as proficient as the major languages like English,
Spanish and French. And also, it made some mistakes when I was asking about
the best spas in Tokyo. So if you ask in other languages than English,
it might be more likely to make mistakes and generate false information.
Anyway, this full chat view is only available for Microsoft Edge. So you
can use Bing in other browsers, but its functions are limited.
I guess that's a good segue into Microsoft Edge browser.
To be honest, I’d never really used Microsoft Edge that much before. So
I was a little hesitant to try it especially I’ve been loving
using Arc browser from the Browser Company. But it’s actually great.
My most favourite thing is the sidebar. If you’ve used Vivaldi browser or Arc browser, you probably
know how useful sidebar can be. You can register your favourite websites there and open them
anytime. For me, I have my favourite task and note apps so I can always write down things or
find information. Or you can open Spotify and listen to your favourite music, while you work.
Also, since this is from Microsoft, access to Microsoft Office apps is
super fast and easy. I don't really use them that much but if you do, this is very useful.
And then you have a range of utility tools like calculator, unit converter and world clock.
Oh by the way, another huge thing for me was that it now lets you install
extensions from the Chrome Web Store. So if you use lots of Chrome extensions,
you can keep using them on Microsoft Edge. This was very important for me
because there are lots of extensions that I cannot survive without.
Speaking of Chrome extensions, one of my favourites is Scribe,
who is kindly sponsoring this video. I like it because it feels like magic and saves me
tons of time. If your work involves onboarding, making training materials and company knowledge
base or simply answering questions, you definitely want to check it out.
I often need to create a how-to guide or step-by-step tutorials for my work
which can be time-consuming and cumbersome. But Scribe makes that process hundred times
easier and faster. You just need to press this record button and do the process on
your own like you usually do. So, let’s say I want to create a how-to guide on how to sign
up for the new Bing waitlist. You search for new Bing in your browser. And then find the
new Bing page which is probably on top. And then click on Join the Waitlist button. Then you just
need to login to your Microsoft account or create one if you don't have one yet.
Okay.
And when it’s finished, stop the recording and then Scribe will automatically generate
a step-by-step guide based on the recording. You can just share it as it is but you can
make some changes to make it easier to digest. And the best part is it’s free for personal use.
If you’re curious, you can check it out from the link in the description
so you can install it and start using it right away. Thanks.
Alright, let’s get back to the sidebar! This is the best part. These two at the
top are the most useful ones. One is search. So whatever webpage you’re on,
you can quickly search something from the sidebar without moving from the current
page. If you need to know something while you’re writing, for example, it’s really convenient.
Then of course, there’s this giant blue Bing icon at the top which opens the chat menu where you can
talk to the AI. This is where it truly feels like you have a real assistant by your side. Of course,
you can ask questions. If it’s just a simple question, using normal search would suffice.
But if it’s a complex or weirdly specific question like the one shown here “what are
some meals I can make for my picky toddler who only eats orange-coloured food?”,
it can give you a pretty good detailed answer based on what it finds on the
Internet. And if you want to dig deeper into something, you just need to ask it.
Also, if you’re in need of a brainstorming partner, you can also ask it to give you
some ideas. It can be for your blog or Youtube channel. Or it can be for your business projects,
or personal stuff like how to throw a great dinner party. Whatever it is, it can be a huge help.
But, another thing I like is that it can recognise what you’re seeing on
the main panel, which is of course only if you give it permission. For instance,
if you’re reading a long article, you can ask the AI to summarise it for you, which might
take a few seconds. Then you can even ask some follow up questions if you want to know more.
Or this one is crazy useful; let’s say you’re writing a blog post and want a little help to
make it better. Now you can ask the AI to read it and make some suggestions
for you. Of course, not everything it says is useful, but some actually are.
You can even highlight a specific paragraph or sentence and ask it to revise,
expand or correct them. This is super useful when
you’re feeling stuck or if you want to check your grammar or spelling.
Personally, this might be the most exciting feature of all because it really feels like
you have a real assistant helping you out and you can use this on any website you want or
any web app. So, if you have a favourite note app or writing app with a web app,
you can easily get the help of AI for it.
But when it comes to writing, you can switch to the Compose tab where you can tweak how you
want it to write for you such as the tone, format and length. So, if you’re replying to an email,
you could give it a brief summary what you want to say and hit the generate draft button. In
just a few seconds, it can give you a nicely written email that you can copy and paste.
Finally, this Insight tab is kind of useful too. It shows a list of relevant articles and
websites based on what you’re seeing on the main panel. I guess if you’re doing some research,
this is a great way to discover more about a topic or subject.
There are a few other cool features too. Collections is one of them.
It’s like Pinterest where you can create multiple boards for different
topics and projects. You can curate pictures and articles easily here.
Also web capture can be handy when you want to save the screenshot of the current
page you are looking at. You can draw on it if you want to, and then save it or share it.
So, Microsoft Edge isn’t actually bad at all. In fact,
it’s pretty good and even amazing now with the new Bing.
Still, it has flaws too since there are many reports of Bing producing false information
or completely made up information. So, you still have to use it with caution.
Even then, I’m sure lots of people will start using it more and Bing take some shares from
Google, seeing Bard, which is Google’s version of ChatGPT, isn’t doing so well at the moment.
But I'm sure they’ll catch up. And when they do, it’s going to be interesting to see how Google’s
products like Chrome, Google Sheets, Google Docs and Gmail are going to look like with AI.
Alright, thank you so much for watching. Don’t forget to check out Scribe. And
if you’re curious to find more great Chrome extensions, check out this video.