Microsoft intends to generate advertising revenue using the Bing-embedded chatbot. The firm has already begun to test the addition of certain advertisements in conversations between the user and Prometheus, its version of ChatGPT.
Unsurprisingly, Microsoft wants to take advantage of Prometheus, the version of ChatGPT incorporated into the Bing search engine. The Redmond giant indeed plans todisplay advertisements directly in the interface dedicated to the chatbot.
According to information from our colleagues at Reuters, Microsoft has already organized a meeting with advertisers about the new Bing. During a meeting with a reputable advertising agency, the group detailed how the ads will be integrated into the search engine. Microsoft presented the few ad formats currently under consideration.
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What will ads look like on the new Bing?
Apparently some ads will fit directly in conversations between the Internet user and artificial intelligence. Concretely, the chatbot will be able to highlight links relaying to brand sites by responding to user requests. Similarly, advertisements now appear on Bing, as they do on Google and other engines, when you perform a traditional web search. These advertising links are displayed below the answer. The ads are chosen according to the request of the user.
In addition, the conversational robot may also rely on advertising communications to respond to requests from a user. The firm simply programmed the AI so that it pick from Bing ads based on questions received. For example, the chatbot responds with hotel advertisements if the user was interested in the best hotels in a given location.
To highlight the advertisements, Microsoft plans to display the ads at the top of the page, rather than confining them to the bottom of the interface, alongside the sources. Although the system is still in its infancy, Microsoft has already started to test adding ads with the first testers of the new Bing.
“They seem to be planning to start immediately with in-app paid ads”explains Michael Cohen, executive vice-president of the media agency Horizon Media, after having attended the presentation of Microsoft.
Some users have already come across advertisements while chatting with Prometheus. On Reddit, the testimonials reveal, with supporting screenshots, how these ads will fit into the interface. According to testimonials, the chatbot sometimes responds to requests by offering products to buy online.
For example, the AI displayed a series of dietary supplements for athletes in response to a user seeking information about Ronnie Coleman, a famous American bodybuilder. In this case, the chatbot first answers the question quite normally, with a short description. The answer is punctuated by an avalanche of advertisements related to the theme. These ads are integrated above the sources, which somewhat spoils the readability of the interface.
Similarly, Prometheus places advertisements for Pokémon cards when the Internet user asks a question related to the Pokémon game on Nintendo Switch. It is enough that the theme is related to products for Bing to display advertisements in its answers. At this time, these ads are only displayed between response and sources. The other advertising formats mentioned by Microsoft have not yet been implemented.
A very lucrative idea
Microsoft hopes earn lots of money thanks to the new version of Bing. The publisher openly aims to capture part of the market share of Google, the undisputed leader in the sector, in order to boost its income generated by online advertising.
Microsoft chief financial officer Amy Hood says the group’s search offensive could bring in a fortune. According to her, each point stolen from Google is likely to generate two billion dollars additional revenue per year for Microsoft. Under these conditions, it is not surprising that the company, whose revenues have been considerably affected by the economic crisis, was quick to integrate advertising into the search engine. We imagine that Microsoft could go even further, in particular by imposing ads in the chatbot which will be integrated into its other products, including PowerPoint, Outlook or Word.
Reuters
