In recent weeks, we’ve added a variety of new ways to access and interact with the new Bing. Today, we are announcing yet another, with powerful updates to SwiftKey that put the Bing AI experience one touch away across any iOS or Android mobile experience that supports a third-party keyboard.
An updated SwiftKey represents a growing set of access points and improvements to Bing experiences, including new updates to existing app integrations spanning Bing, Skype, Microsoft Start, and Microsoft Edge apps.
SwiftKey: Chat, Search, and Tone
SwiftKey has been part of the Microsoft family since 2016. It has millions of users around the world who love it for its AI-powered predictive text technology, which makes texting without typos easier, even when you’re in a rush or multi-tasking. Upon download, SwiftKey lets you set it as your default keyboard on both iOS and Android (the app includes easy-to-follow instructions to help you get there in just a few steps), so you can access it across all your favorite apps, from email apps to social media and more. SwiftKey lets you choose up to five languages to integrate into your keyboard.
Bing integrates in three major ways – Search, Chat, and Tone. The update is available today. Once you’ve got the update, you’ll see the Bing icon above the keyboard. From there you can click on the exact feature you’d like to use; Chat, Tone, or Search.
With the Chat functionality, you can access the new Bing on the go for more detailed queries. It can help if everybody’s cracking jokes in the chat and you need a clever pun, or you’re new to the area and are texting some new friends to propose a good local restaurant.
With the Tone feature, you can communicate more effectively by using AI to customize your in-progress text to fit any situation. Whether you struggle to be formal in your work emails, or you’re learning a new language and want help with the nuances of word choice, the Tone feature has got you covered, with tones to make your words sound more professional, casual, polite, or concise enough for a social post.
With the Search functionality, you can quickly search the web from your keyboard, without switching apps. This can help while you’re talking to a friend and mid-conversation, you want to look up relevant information like the weather, restaurants near you, or stock prices.
These new features in SwiftKey are accessible in all markets where the new Bing is available; anyone can use Search now, while accessing Tone and Chat requires that you sign into your Microsoft Account that has been approved to access the new Bing preview.
Bing App: gender debias in translator functionality
The translator functionality in the mobile Bing app now offers alternative masculine and feminine translations when translating from English to Spanish, French, or Italian, to promote inclusivity and to avoid gender bias. This feature allows users to choose the gendered translation that best fits their context and is helpful for well-intentioned speakers of all proficiency levels.
Skype: expanded access to the new Bing in group chats
As we recently announced, the new Bing is in Skype! Since that release we’ve expanded access, so everyone in a group can chat with the new Bing in the context of that conversation; only one person in the group needs to have access to the preview!
This means as a group you can use the new Bing from within the Skype app just like you’d use the new Bing on desktop; you can use it to, for example, settle a debate, help plan a group trip, or find a restaurant for you all to meet at in person. To get started, search for ‘Bing in Skype’ in your Skype contacts and add it to a group chat, just like you would any other contact!
Just like on desktop, the new Bing chat responses in the Skype app which reference facts are cited with web links to sources, so you can double-check where the information is coming from.
These updates are available in all markets where the new Bing is available.
Microsoft Start: another way to experience the new Bing
The new Bing is now available via the Microsoft Start app too, for users who have cleared the waitlist. The Start app keeps you up to speed on the things you care about, all in one app. The personalized news feed, including premium content from hundreds of global publishers, keeps you informed and entertained, and the sports scores, weather forecasts, stock prices, shopping deals and more give you everything you need to know to start your day.
We rely on so many mobile apps in our daily lives whether it be for work, personal needs, and everything in between, so we want to put AI-powered Bing features at your fingertips in ways that mean the most to you.
We hope you’re as excited by these updates as we are and as always, we appreciate your feedback!
Divya Kumar – Sr. Director, Search & AI Marketing
