Microsoft has opened discussions with ad agencies on how it plans to monetize its revamped Bing search engine. Bing is now running on top of a generative artificial intelligence as the firm battles Google’s dominance.
The tech giant demoed the new Bing among major ad agencies. It plans to allow paid links in responses to search results, according to a source.
Generative AI can produce original answers in a human voice as a response to open-ended questions or requests.
Last week, Microsoft and Alphabet’s Google launched new generative AI chatbots. The bots can synthesize material on the web for complex search queries.
Early search results and conversations on Bing and Google’s Bard show how they can be unpredictable.
The technology is critical. Alphabet lost a whopping $100 billion market value the same day it released a promotional video for Bard. The chatbot shared inaccurate information.
Microsoft expects more human responses from its Bing AI chatbot. It aims to generate more users for its search function and, of course, more advertisers.
Ads within the Bing chatbot may have more priority on the page compared to traditional search ads.
The company said it wants traditional search ads so brands will pay to have their websites or products appear on search results for keywords related to their business, an ad executive told Reuters.
Integrating ads into the Bing chatbot could ensure ads placement. It would not get pushed down the page below the chatbot.
The new Bing has a waitlist of millions of people for access. If done right, it is a lucrative opportunity for Microsoft.
Last week, the company said during an investor and press presentation that every percentage point of market share it gets in the search advertising market could add $2 billion of ad revenue.
The Microsoft Edge web browser uses the Bing search engine. It has a market share of under 5% worldwide, based on StatCounter’s numbers.
