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Microsoft brings its Bing AI chatbot to mobile apps and Skype
Look out, Cortana — there's voice control now, too.
Since it started opening up its generative AI-powered chatbot in Bing earlier this month, Microsoft has granted more than a million people access to a preview of the tool, while millions more are on the waitlist. Until now, the only way to access the chatbot has been through the Edge desktop browser. But Microsoft is already bringing it to more products, services and devices.
Starting today, those with access to the chatbot through their Microsoft account can use it on the Edge and Bing mobile apps for Android and iOS. Tapping the Bing button at the bottom of the namesake mobile app will start a chat session. In the Edge mobile app, you can fire up the chatbot from the homepage.
On top of that, you can start using the chatbot in Skype. Users can converse with it one-on-one or add it to a group chat. You might use the chatbot to help plan a trip and let everyone else see the suggestions at the same time, or settle a debate by asking it to clarify which movies an actor has appeared in over the last decade. It can translate information between more than 100 languages too.
There's also another way to use the chatbot. Microsoft has added voice control on both mobile and desktop. While it's early days for the chatbot, it could finally spell the end for Cortana after years of the voice assistant gradually fading into the background.
Microsoft notes that it could (and probably will) bring the chatbot to other apps, such as Teams,. However, it said that it's still fine-tuning the chatbot, which has run into a number of speed bumps after more people got their hands on it.
