Microsoft is expanding Bing AI to more browsers – but there’s a catch

Microsoft’s Bing AI is moving further beyond its roots. Previously available only in Microsoft Edge and the Bing mobile app, Bing Chat is heading toward more third-party browsers. In a blog post published on Monday, the company said that people will be able to experience “the new AI-powered Bing in third-party browsers on web and mobile soon.”

Microsoft didn’t reveal which specific browsers on desktop and mobile would support Bing AI. At this point, the chatbot is already available for select users of Chrome in Windows and Safari on MacOS.

Also: 7 ways you didn’t know you can use Bing Chat and other AI chatbots

In my testing, Bing AI also worked in Chrome on iOS (but not iPadOS) and Android. The news could mean that it will expand to other browsers and platforms, such as Chrome on MacOS, Safari on iOS/iPadOS, and even Firefox across the board.

Of course, Microsoft still wants you to stick with its own browser rather than rely on the competition. As such, chatting with Bing AI in Edge offers certain advantages, including longer conversations and a history of your chats.

With Bing AI in Chrome, for example, you’re restricted to five messages per chat compared to 30 in Edge. Some browsers, such as Safari, limit you to 2,000 characters per request as opposed to 4,000 in Edge. Plus, a popup window keeps appearing, prompting you to head to Edge to chat with Bing.

Also: How to use Microsoft Edge’s integrated Bing AI Image Creator

Otherwise, Bing AI works the same in other browsers as it does in Edge and the Bing app. Choose a conversation style — More Creative, More Balanced, or More Precise. Enter your question or request. In response, Bing answers your question or creates content for you. You can then submit further queries about the same topic or start a new subject. Beyond generating text, Bing can also devise an image based on your description.

In its blog post, Microsoft also touted recent enhancements to Bing AI. With the visual search feature, you can add a photo or other image to your request and ask Bing to describe or interpret it or answer questions about it. Dark Mode now works with Bing Chat both on the website and in the Bing mobile app. There’s even an enterprise version of Bing AI for large organizations that want to offer but also manage the use of the chatbot among their employees.