Microsoft’s Bing Chat is no longer exclusive to the Edge browser, as it now works in Chrome and Safari, The Verge reported. “We’re rolling out access to Bing Chat in Safari and Chrome for select users as part of our testing of other browsers,” a Microsoft spokesperson said. The Verge. “We look forward to expanding access to more users once our standard testing procedures are complete.”
This seems to be more than a small test, because a number of users (including myself in Chrome but not Safari) have gained access. There are some limitations, however. You must be logged in to your Microsoft account, and prompts are limited to 2,000 characters compared to 4,000 in Edge. Conversations reset after five questions rather than 30, and it always prompts you to download Edge (never change, Microsoft).
Bing Chat is powered by OpenAI’s ChatGPT-4, which gives users access to the latter’s features without having to pay. There are some differences, however, because Bing Chat has access to Bing Search while ChatGPT-4 itself does not, so can provide more up-to-date information and sources for answers. However, OpenAI chat often provides more detailed answers. Recently, a paper came out that said that the capabilities of ChatGPT-4 are reduced, but some experts downplay the conclusions.
Besides releasing it for other browsers, Microsoft also introduced a dark mode for Bing Chat. To use it, click on the hamburger menu in the upper right and select “Show/Dark.” That function may not be available to all users yet.
