Summary

  • Microsoft has introduced AI captions to Bing search engine, making it easier to read and process search results with reliable summaries.
  • The AI captions are generated based on search queries and information derived from webpages, using signals and techniques to maintain accuracy.
  • Website owners can opt out of their pages being summarized by AI by using specific tags, and users can use generated summaries to save time while browsing the web.

If you use Bing for your search needs, you’re likely aware of the snippets it provides to summarize query results. While these overviews of webpages can be helpful, they can contain an overwhelming amount of information. From Wikipedia information to news articles, snippets can take just as much time to digest as visiting the actual website. Now, Microsoft is deploying AI to make it easier to browse the web via Bing.

Microsoft has announced that generative AI captions will now be a part of the Bing search engine experience. The GPT 4-based AI analyzes a search query, and then derives information from webpages to create descriptive captions. The idea behind this feature is to make your search results easier to read and process. Microsoft notes that the generated captions won’t be a word-for-word reflection of what can be found on the websites. However, the AI relies on a series of “signals and techniques” to maintain accuracy — this means that the captions you’re reading are reliable summaries. If you own a website, you can use the tags “NOCACHE” and “NOARCHIVE” to opt out of your page being able to be summarized by the AI. Microsoft notes that it will also allow owners to use the tags “MAXSNIPPET” and “NOSNIPPET” to limit snippets being generated based on their content.

This news comes just days after Microsoft rebranded Bing Chat — as well as its other AI products — as Copilot. Despite the name change, none of the functionality of these AI tools will be lost. The Copilot rebranding is extending to Microsoft’s enterprise products and services as well.

Whether you heavily rely on snippets to preview websites or you typically deep dive into your search results, AI may change how you browse the web. Instead of falling down a rabbit hole, you can use features like generated summaries to save you time.