Microsoft has Bing Chat AI, one of the most popular generative AI chatbots around.
At first, in order to (also) boost the popularity of its web browser, Microsoft only allowed Microsoft Edge users to use the Bing chatbot. What this means, the bot could only be accessed through the Microsoft-made browser, and nothing else.
Fast forward a few months, Microsoft cannot force that stringency for too long.
Microsoft knows that many people may never convert to Microsoft Edge, even when the browser is already one of the most popular around.
Because of this, the company finally makes its Bing chatbot available to other web browsers than Edge.
According to report, the chatbot should be available for Google Chrome users, and also Apple Safari users.
Back in February, Yusuf Mehdi, Corporate Vice President and Consumer Chief Marketing at Microsoft, said that the company would prioritize access to its Bing chatbot on its Edge browser.
It's worth noting that the company did say its intension to bring the chatbot AI to all browsers "over time."
Initially expanding it gradually, those who manage to get Bing chatbot working on other browsers, said that they are receiving a pop-up in the Windows 10 or 11 taskbar, offering the opportunity to try the Bing AI. They can also head to Bing.com from either Chrome or Safari, and then click on the “Chat” icon to try out the experience.
However, those that gained early access said that the chatbot is more limited.
For example, prompts are reportedly limited to 2,000 characters instead of 4,000 in Edge, and users are also restricted to just 5 conversation turns instead of 30.
While not completely detrimental, these limits may frustrate some people.
What this means, despite releasing to other browsers from rivals, Microsoft is still prioritizing Bing over others, which is obvious.
"We are flighting access to Bing Chat in Safari and Chrome to select users as part of our testing on other browsers," said Microsoft Director of Communications, Caitlin Roulston, in an emailed statement.
"We are excited to expand access to even more users once our standard testing procedures are complete."
Bing remains better integrated into Microsoft Edge as the chatbot is also accessible from the Edge sidebar, where it can be used to create content or summarize web pages.
Regardless, this is still a big win for Chrome and Safari users.
In the past, Microsoft has a history of nudging users away from rivals' products in favor of its own web browser, no matter the cost.
But since generative AIs become a hype, Bing's AI chat experience notably faced accusations of generating promotional text for Bing features instead of fulfilling user-requested searches, like for example, when users asked about "Chrome."
This misleading practice attracted criticism and dented Bing's reputation.
Following the backlash, Microsoft that originally hoped to position its Bing chatbot as a competitor to ChatGPT and Google Bard, cannot push too aggressively forward.
Following the backlash, Microsoft deactivated the feature, and started experimenting with providing enhanced customer experiences.
Before this, Microsoft launched Bing Chat Enterprise, which provides the same "Copilot for the web" experience with the guarantee of commercial data protection.