Microsoft announces a number of feature updates to its search engine Bing, hoping that they will make it smarter by showing better results.
To do this, the company leverages Microsoft's AI research, as well as a partnership with "the front page of the internet" Reddit.
The first way, Microsoft injects machine learning AI into Bing. This should make the search engine more conversational, similar to the ways Google is showing answers in the form of cards.
The feature is rolling out, to also include: Intelligent Search, Intelligent Image Search and Conversational Search.
"AI has come a long way in the ability to find information, but making sense of that information is the real challenge," explained said Kristina Behr, a partner design and planning program manager with Microsoft’s Artificial Intelligence and Research group.
Intelligent and Conversational Search focuses on ensuring that Microsoft could stay competitive with Google in integrating AI and machine learning into its search engine.
Intelligent Search should be able to surface common queries, but it won't show controversial ones, like things about marijuana health effects, or questions regarding abortion, for example.
Intelligent Image Search allows users to go deeper into searches so that you can not only find a photo of a celebrity, but also more images about the accessories they are wearing.
Like jewelry, for example. Users just need top tap a "search within image. The features aren't yet perfect, but as it learns more, the AI should turn smarter.
The next is Microsoft in partnering with Reddit to surface results from the site more effectively.
Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian announced that the two companies were collaborating to integrate Reddit content more directly into Bing search results, getting data from Reddit crowd-sourced AMAs and other posts.
With the collaboration, users can ask things like, “What do non-Americans think of Trump?" and Bing will fetch highly up-voted responses will be right there for users on Bing.
"We see this as a new window into helping people discover new communities," Ohanian said. "We can make both of our platforms better as a result."
The partnership also benefits Reddit. As its UI is known to not be that great on desktop, with Microsoft fetching answers from it to its search engine, Reddit should be having a great amount of exposure. Bing is effective on mobile and desktop, and this can prove the strategy essential.