Microsoft has told at least two rival search engines it will cut off access to its Bing search index if they don’t stop using it as the basis for their AI chatbots, Bloomberg reported(Opens in a new window) Friday.
The data, essentially a map of the internet, is licensed by Microsoft to companies like Yahoo and DuckDuckGo that offer web search. In recent months, AI chatbots have taken off in popularity and usage and some customers are using the index to feed their AI chat tools.
Bloomberg did not specifically name the customers threatened with the index cut-off in its report but notes that DuckDuckGo recently launched DuckAssist(Opens in a new window), while Microsoft clients You.com and Neeva have in recent months debuted the AI-fueled searches YouChat, and NeevaAI.
Citing anonymous sources with knowledge of the dispute, the Washington-based company is said to have informed at least two customers that the use of its Bing search index to feed their AI chatbots breaches the terms of their contract.
Microsoft, which launched its own AI-infused Bing search earlier this year, did not immediately respond to PCMag’s request for comment.
As Bloomberg notes, Google is the only other company that indexes the internet, though it imposes limitations on the use of its index that make it far less appealing than Microsoft to other seach engines.
Rival search engines use Microsoft’s web search data because indexing the entire internet is expensive as it necessitates servers and a continual digging of the web to ensure the index is up to date. Microsoft’s threat to cut off access therefore holds potentially serious consequences for the ability of its customers to maintain and ensure the accuracy of their AI chatbots.
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Meanwhile, Open AI, the creator of the popular ChatGPT AI chatbot, estimated that AI-powered chat tech could have a serious impact on 19% of US jobs.
The chatbot is powerful enough to write marketing pitches and essays as well as even program computer code.
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