Microsoft's Bing Chat Unveils 'NoSearch' To Enhance User Experience Without The Web

The AI world was dull and quite boring, until generative AI took over tech headlines.

When OpenAI introduced ChatGPT., people were quickly wowed by its abilities. While the AI can do lots of thing and understands more than enough, its knowledge is limited because it's initial version didn't allow it to browse the web. Only paying subscribers of ChatGPT Plus can benefit from this.

This fact was then utilized by the likes of Google Bard and Microsoft Bing, which both made their generative AIs capable of browsing the web in real time.

But sometimes, people just want things a bit less.

In a significant development, Microsoft is introducing an feature within its Bing Chat chatbot AI service, known as the 'No Search' mode.

This feature allows users to utilize the Bing Chat without the chatbot conducting web searches for answers.

While this can be called a degradation, and not an improvement, the feature was highly sought-after.

As explained by Mikhail Parakhin, Microsoft's head of Advertising and Web Services, Michael Schechter, Vice President of Microsoft's Bing group, responded with excitement, saying, "Excited to get this out to the power users who've been requesting it."

The introduction of the 'No Search' feature brings several key advantages.

First of, users can engage with the chatbot directly for tasks like solving complex math problems or coding, receiving immediate answers without the chatbot scouring the web for answers.

This is especially valuable for inquiries that might not yield satisfactory results through web searches.

When the feature is turned on, the Bing Chat window will state: 'Bing disabled.'

This signifies the deactivation of the search function.

However, for users who prefer web searches within Bing Chat, the feature includes an 'Activate Search' button to enable web searches for their subsequent queries.

Initially, the 'No Search' feature is accessible only to a select group of Bing Chat users.

In the ever-evolving world of technology, sometimes, stepping back is the better way to leap forward.

NoSearch feature cannot be called an improvement to the chatbot, since it clearly makes it less smart.

However, the unique approach allows users to chat with the bot, as it is.

When NoSearch is turned on, users can actually enjoy casual conversations with the chatbot, free from internet-sourced 'answers.'

Devoid of web searches, users chatting with Bing Chat will have the bot maxing out its knowledge, providing responses to the user's questions without incorporating additional up-to-date data.