Microsoft is sneaking another tendril of its Bing AI into Edge, with the chatbot getting integrated with the browser’s PDF reader functionality, at least in testing.
This was spotted by Twitter-based leaker Leopeva64, who has uncovered a lot of material relating to Edge in recent times. The Bing chatbot integration was found in the Canary channel of testing for the browser.
Bing Chat will also be integrated into Edge's PDF reader:https://t.co/5GQikmlzdE.https://t.co/7wZwuAuBcf pic.twitter.com/Cn7cLC5CSLMay 9, 2023
You can see how it works in the tweet above. There’s a new ‘Ask Bing Chat’ button present in the PDF reader, and if you click it, you’ll get the Bing AI popping up in the sidebar (on the right).
It’s then possible to start a chat relating to the PDF which is currently open in Edge, carried out in the usual way from there.
Analysis: Expect more of this sort of thing
We’ve seen Microsoft crowbarring Bing into Edge with several fresh angles of late, in what’s becoming a clear enough pattern. Earlier this month, the same leaker highlighted the presence of a new option to fire up Bing AI in the right-click context menu in Edge, a pretty sweeping measure in terms of integration.
That change was also in testing with the Canary version of Edge – the earliest test build – so these bits of functionality still have a long way to go before they reach the release version of Microsoft’s browser.
However, given the general big push for Bing – not just in Edge, but elsewhere, such as in Windows 11 (in the taskbar, search box) – we’d be surprised, frankly, if these changes weren’t realized. More to the point, we’d expect Microsoft to be looking for other areas of the interface, certainly in the Edge browser, where Bing AI can be inserted.
As ever, there’s a line to tread here, between raising the profile of the Bing chatbot, and running the risk of annoying people who don’t want to see the AI popping up everywhere in the browser. Although it’s true that this line is likely to be drawn in a different place with testing compared to release, and not everything will make the cut.
As to how Bing AI is faring in terms of usage thus far, the chatbot may be undeniably popular, but it doesn’t seem to be driving up Bing search traffic going by some new figures (though do note – this contradicts stats we’ve heard previously).
