Microsoft has unveiled a range of innovative shopping tools infused with artificial intelligence (AI) for its Bing search engine and the Bing AI chatbot integrated into the Edge sidebar. While previous shopping features in Edge received mixed reviews, this fresh set of tools appears to offer genuine value.
One notable addition is Bing’s employment of GPT-powered AI capabilities to automatically generate buying guides when users search for terms like “college supplies.” The AI algorithm gathers relevant products within each category, provides detailed specifications for easy comparison, and directs users to purchase options (with Microsoft earning affiliate fees upon purchase).
This development could potentially impact existing websites specializing in similar buying guides, and it remains to be seen how they will respond. If Microsoft implements these features in Bing, it is likely that other search engines, such as Google, will follow suit. This move may be met with approval as it eliminates low-quality, SEO-optimized shopping content that often hinders product comparison. However, legitimate editorial operations may also face some challenges.
The buying guides are already available in the United States, and the global rollout for buying guides in Edge has begun.
Furthermore, Microsoft is introducing AI-generated review summaries worldwide. This feature succinctly summarizes online product reviews. Users can simply ask Bing Chat in Edge to provide a summary of people’s opinions on a particular product, and the AI algorithm swiftly generates an overview.
Another addition is Price Match, a tool that enables users to request price matches from retailers, even after a price drop. Microsoft has partnered with prominent U.S. retailers that already have price match policies, with plans to collaborate with more retailers in the future. However, the specific retailers involved were not disclosed.