They said it couldn’t be done, but Bing now has 100 million daily users.
Microsoft Vice President Yusuf Mehdi shared the news in a blog post(Opens in a new tab) And Twitter(Opens in a new tab) THURSDAY. Additionally, Mehdi said about a third of Bing users are new and engagement is up with existing users. Thanks to launch of the new Bing, users are suddenly curious to test ChatGPT-style features on Bing and Microsoft’s Edge web browser. “As more people use the new Bing and Edge, we’re seeing trials and adoption of new features that prove the value of an integrated search and chat experience,” Mehdi said.
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In February, Microsoft reminded people that Bing still exists and announced a new version of the search engine, powered by OpenAI’s generative artificial intelligence. It was a bold move to play for some of the search engine traffic from Google, which dominates the market. But it also meant Bing didn’t have much to lose. Now it looks like Bing’s Hail Mary is paying off.
Compared to Google’s estimated number of daily active users of at least one billion, 100 million daily active users are still small potatoes. But it’s an important step for the search engine that has often been the subject of jokes. Since its launch a month ago, the new Bing has suddenly become the cool kid. Over a million users have signed up for waiting list to access it, and social media has been saturated with posts from users who have gained early access. THE New York Times even job(Opens in a new tab) a full two-hour transcript of a conversation between Bing chat and tech columnist Kevin Roose.
Of course, part of Bing’s newfound popularity often has to do with how scary or misguided it can be. But Bing was using this feedback to create updates and improvements. The key is whether Microsoft can turn Bing’s novelty into long-term success. “This is an astonishingly remarkable number, and yet we are fully aware that we remain a small, low single-digit share player,” Mehdi said of the long way to go. “That said, it feels good to be at the ball!”
