Microsoft's AI-powered Bing is coming to the Windows 11 taskbar
The new Bing has been undergoing lots of upgrades recently, including changes to its chat limits, a new integration with Skype, availability in the the Bing mobile app, and even the addition of voice search.
Now AI-powered Bing will have a new home -- on the Windows 11 taskbar.
On Monday, Microsoft announced that it is taking "a major step forward adding to the incredible breadth and ease of use of the Windows PC" by introducing a typable Windows search box, placing the capabilities of the new Bing front and center in the taskbar.
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If you are among the one million users given early access to the new Bing, all you have to do to experience the Windows integration is install the latest Windows 11 update. If you haven't got early access, you can either sign up for the wait list or patiently wait for the update to be more broadly available.
"The search box is one of the most widely used features on Windows, with over half a billion users every month, and now with the typable Windows search box and the new AI-powered Bing front and center to this experience you will be empowered to find the answers you're looking for, faster than ever before," said Panos Panay, Microsoft's chief product officer.
Although Microsoft hasn't revealed an an exact date for larger rollout, the tech giant does say that "soon" hundreds of millions of Windows 11 users will get access to the new AI-powered Bing taskbar, which could point to an expansion in the new Bing preview sooner rather than later.
Also: The new Bing waitlist is long. Here's how to get earlier access
Another major upgrade coming to Windows 11 is Phone Link for iOS, which is currently in preview. Through the use of Phone Link, iOS users will be able to sync their phones to their Windows 11 browser to never miss a text or a call, including iMessage. Phone link has been available to Android phones for some time and this update brings some features to optimize that experience as well.
Other upgrades include an improved widget system, which now allows for select third-party additions, a touch-optimized taskbar, new accessibility features, a screen-recording option in the snipping tool, energy recommendations, and the addition of tabs to the Notepad app.
To take advantage of all of these new Windows 11 features, you can manually install the update today by checking for updates. Full availability of the new features will be delivered in March 2023 via the monthly security update release.