Microsoft Launches Copilot Search: A New AI-Powered Search Experience in Bing

Copilot Search: I Tried Microsoft's New AI Answer Tool (and You Can Too)

Traditional search engines such as Bing, DuckDuckGo, and Google all have generative AI tools, and plenty of AI search engines are now available. But, as a seasoned tester of search engines, Microsoft's new Copilot Search feature in Bing stands out to me among the myriad options. Launched at Microsoft's 50th Anniversary Event in Redmond, WA, Copilot Search displays its sources clearly, lets you refine your queries, and even shows you its reasoning process. The standard version of Copilot can also search web results, of course, but Copilot Search in Bing provides a richer set of options and a more useful results page layout. Copilot Search is available on both desktop and mobile platforms, and you don't need to sign into a Microsoft account to use it. I tried it out at the company's anniversary event, but Microsoft representatives told me that the tool should already be live for more than 90% of Bing users. Indeed, it was available on both my laptop and phone for testing. Here's how to try Copilot Search, along with my thoughts on this (dare I say) groundbreaking advance in web search: 1. Open Bing Start by navigating to good old Bing.com. Enter your query as a regular search. Don't click the Copilot button on the home page; that takes you to the standard Copilot interface. For this example, my search query was "rare bird sightings in Redmond, Washington." 2. Choose Copilot Search This is the second button from the left in the top row, next to All. You should see an animation and related search queries that the AI generates based on your input. Then, the results page appears. 3. Browse the Curated Results Imagine my disappointment when I learned that there hadn't been any recent rare bird sightings in the area. However, Copilot Search's additional search features (below) lifted my mood. 4. Click See Reasoning I've never seen this option in any other search engine: Copilot Search shows you what it thinks your search intention is in plain language. In my case, it came up with "The user is looking for information on recent sightings of rare birds, specifically in Redmond, Washington. They may want to know which rare bird species have been observed in the area recently." That's spot-on. 5. Click See All Links This is a great option for research or cases in which you need to double-check Copilot Search's sources. It shows you a clear sidebar with sections for sources and all links. The top group includes the pages Copilot used to generate its answer, whereas the bottom section shows all the pages it considered. The latter are similar to what a standard web search would find. 6. Explore Suggested Searches At the bottom of the generated answer, you see suggested searches, which, in my case, were fairly on target. The first suggestion in my example was "Best birding spots near Redmond," which is probably what I should have asked in the first place. 7. Ask a Follow-Up Question The bottom search box with the Copilot logo lets you submit any additional related queries. This capability isn't available with standard search engines. Copilot Search retains the previous context of your searches, so you don't need to enter a complete query here. For example, when I entered "top species" or "rarest species," it knew I was talking about bird species. You can see the result of that latter follow-up question in the image above. I like that Copilot Search offers to show photos or videos of the Sandhill Crane on the right side of the results page. It's Time to Give Bing Another Chance I find all these new tools compelling and among the many reasons to use Bing, at least occasionally. Google includes AI Overviews at the top of its results, but you don't get the same context-aware follow-ups, link sourcing, search options, and reasoning insights as with Copilot Search. Whatever your thoughts on Bing, Copilot Search is just the latest example of Microsoft's start-up-like focus on AI. I suggest you give it a try.

Microsoft surfacing Bing's new Copilot Search mode as it races to beat Google

Last month Google announced a new "AI Mode" for Search, and now Microsoft has rapidly rolled out "Copilot Search" on Bing, which largely does the same thing. First appearing in late February, "Copilot Search" in Bing is a dedicated UI for performing searches that provides answers and results in a focused way using generative AI. The typical "blue links" are hidden, with an AI summary of your question or search and a list of sources from the web below that. Microsoft started testing this functionality over a month ago, but has now widely rolled it out and surfaced it in Bing's overall UI. Spotted by Windows Latest, Microsoft is now starting to show Copilot Search as the first search filter in Bing, even ahead of the dedicated shortcut to the full Copilot experience. Microsoft said that it was "continuing to experiment and iterate with generative search" with this effort. This change doesn't appear to be widely available to all users, though. On our account, we still see the Copilot Search shortcut buried under the "more" overflow section. It's obviously that Microsoft is pushing this experience forward right as Google is preparing to launch "AI Mode." Google officially announced that feature in early March and is testing it with some users, though it's unclear when it will roll out widely. Free users who signed up for the waitlist were granted access last week.

Microsoft releases its own AI search engine, called Copilot Search

Microsoft is stepping up to Google. Ask questions and get AI-powered summaries based on information from across the web. Artificial intelligence has basically taken over and replace traditional web search engines. You've already seen it with AI overviews in Google Search, followed up with OpenAI going the way of SearchGPT. Even alternative search engines like DuckDuckGo are starting to incorporate AI into their platforms, and things aren't slowing down. Well, now we can add another to the pile: Microsoft just released Copilot Search, which is sort of like an AI-infused Bing Search. It takes in data from sources all over the web, then uses Copilot's AI powers to synthesize a summary for you. You may have seen something similar before in Bing with AI-powered "Copilot Answers." Copilot Search supports natural language queries, which means you don't have to worry about how to phrase your questions or search inquiries to get the answer you're looking for. For example, if you ask the question, "How much is 57 degrees Fahrenheit in Celsius?", Copilot Search can figure out that you're talking about temperature conversions. Unlike Copilot Answers in Bing, however, Copilot Search has its own interface that's reminiscent of Copilot itself (and ChatGPT, among other AI chatbots). You can ask follow-up questions and keep the conversation going, building on past queries to get more specific answers. The easiest way to try Copilot Search right now is to visit bing.com/copilotsearch. Soon, the AI-powered search engine will also be available via menus in the Bing search engine itself.

Microsoft's Bing adds a Copolit Search mode to rival Google AI Search

Table of Contents Table of Contents How to access Bing's Copilot Search? How Copilot Search works? Barely a few weeks ago, Google introduced a new AI Search mode. The idea is to provide answers as a wall of text, just the way an AI chatbot answers your queries, instead of the usual Search Results with blue links to different sources. Microsoft is now in the race, too. The company has quietly rolled out a new Copilot Search option for its Bing search engine. The feature was first spotted by Windows Latest, but Digital Trends can confirm that it is now accessible across all platforms. Recommended Videos How to access Bing's Copilot Search? You can access the dedicated Copilot Search mode by visiting Bing Search in any web browser, or simply use this shortcut: "bing.com/copilotsearch?q=(QUERY). It is also widely available in the Edge browser on both mobile and desktop now. When you look up information on the web using the Bing Search, the top menu bar now shows a dedicated "SEARCH" option sitting alongside the Copilot icon, flanked by "All" and "Image" options. Once you tap on it, your query will automatically be carried over and an AI search will kick into action. On the desktop version, if you don't see Copilot Search at the top, tap on the three-dot menu button underneath the text box and select "Copilot Search" from the drop-down menu. How Copilot Search works? Depending on your question, you can get a series of paragraphs, or a well-curated answer separated across numbered bulleted lists and sections. At the end of each paragraph break, you will also see a hyperlink embed, which can be tapped to open a small window taking you to the source material. At the bottom of the AI Search answer, all the sources are listed in the form of a sliding card carousel. The approach is not too different from Google's AI mode for Search. So far, a few of the tricky questions I put before Copilot Search were handled accurately. But do keep in mind that AI search tools still have a knack for fumbling, so it's always recommended that you double-check with the source material.

Microsoft's Bing AI search mode is lurking

Microsoft is stepping into the AI search ring, challenging Google's recently launched AI Search mode. The company has quietly introduced a new "Copilot Search" option for its Bing search engine, now accessible across all platforms. It's also available in the Edge browser on both mobile and desktop. When using Bing Search, a "SEARCH" option now appears in the top menu bar alongside the Copilot icon. Tapping it carries your query over and initiates an AI-powered search. If Copilot Search isn't visible on the desktop version, click the three-dot menu button under the text box and select "Copilot Search." Copilot Search provides answers in paragraphs or numbered lists, depending on the query. Each paragraph includes a hyperlink to the source material. Similar to Google's AI mode, Copilot Search lists all sources in a sliding card carousel at the bottom of the AI-generated answer.

Microsoft's New Copilot Search in Bing Gives You AI Overviews Without Traditional Results

The new Copilot search is live and can be accessed on bing.com/copilotsearch. In the Copilot event that Microsoft held today on its 50th anniversary, it revealed new Copilot capabilities. From Copilot Actions to Vision and Deep Research, there were many announcements, but one that stood out for general consumers is Copilot Search in Bing. Here's everything you need to know about it. Copilot Search in Bing combines the traditional search engine experience with generative AI to make the search seamless. It's now available for everyone and can be accessed via the dedicated link or Bing's official website. Copilot Search in Bing is much similar to AI overviews but uses only the Copilot interface, skipping the traditional search results. Microsoft said the goal is to make search easier than traditional search, which could sometimes feel like finding a needle in a haystack. Copilot in Bing pulls up relevant data with images and videos from websites to show you exactly what you're looking for. Much like AI overviews, it cites the sources, so that you know where the information is coming from. Microsoft also claims they've designed it with "publishers and content owners in mind to support a healthy web ecosystem". They're (links) are highlighted prominently at the bottom of the result. This allows you to be just a click away from your favorite publishers and content owners. Once you search for something, you'll see a suggestion topic at the bottom. These are related to the current search, and you can click on these to unearth more information on the topic. The Redmond giant says Copilot Bing Search is its next step toward simplifying the search process after it rolled out generative Bing searches a year ago. What are your thoughts on the Copilot Bing Search? Let us know in the comments below.