Bing’s AI-Generated Buying Guides: A Step Forward or a Misstep?
So, Microsoft has decided to give Bing a bit of an AI makeover, the company spilled the beans on Thursday. The next time you’re in dire need of a “college supplies”search, Bing will graciously serve up AI-concocted guides. These handy-dandy guides will pit products against each other in a gladiatorial match-up. Headphones, laptops – you name it, they compare it.
The way to the promised land of Bing’s buying guide is right at the crest of the search engine’s results. Dive into the guide and voila! An AI-spun summary of your heart’s desire, along with a smorgasbord of products related to your search. Tap the Compare button and witness a chart, a virtual tug of war, yanking specs from the product manufacturers’ websites and comparing them cheek by jowl. Microsoft, the good samaritan, notifies you that you can access buying guides both through Bing chat and in the Edge sidebar.
But let’s pause for a minute. Do we put our faith in an AI to ferret out the crème de la crème products on the web? Especially when there are flesh-and-blood reviewers willing to do the hard work. Even so, the product comparison chart does seem like a neat trick to see how different products measure up, given it reels in the right data. This feature is up and running in Bing in the US and is unfurling in Edge worldwide.
In a move to keep up with the Joneses, Microsoft is also launching review summaries in its Bing chatbot. Ask Bing for the word on the street about a product, and the tool will condense the reviews it scavenges from retailers like Amazon and Walmart. I’m itching to test drive this feature, and perhaps even weigh them against a product’s actual reviews just to see what tidbits it highlights.
Take the example Microsoft tossed in: Bing declares the “Surface Headphones 2 are a stellar pick for globe-trotters, scholars, and anyone hankering after top-notch ANC headphones. They boast a suave design, superior sound quality, and a marathon battery life. They’re also chummy with hands-free Alexa and Google Assistant, and come with a crystal-clear mic system for calls.”
However, Bing’s claim of “long battery life” doesn’t quite gel with the customer feedback on Amazon. One of the top reviews (along with a few others) grumbles about not reaping the full 20 hours of battery life as promised. So, a word to the wise: do your own snooping if you decide to give this tool a whirl. Review summaries are making their global debut.
In other news, Microsoft is slipping in a price match feature to Edge that keeps an eye on the price of an item post-purchase. If the price plummets, Edge will nudge you to touch base with the retailer to ask for a refund. And the cherry on top? Bing will whip up a message that you can shoot off to the retailer.
But here’s the rub. As Microsoft crams more AI tools and shopping features into Edge, the browser is starting to feel… somewhat overstuffed. This erstwhile nimble alternative to Chrome is rapidly filling to the brim with tools that not all surfers want or need. While generative AI is undeniably a thrilling leap, it might be a smarter move to corral these tools inside of an extension rather than shoving them down everyone’s browsing throat.
