Microsoft opens up access to Bing Chat just a day before it plans to detail AI-powered features in Office apps.
Microsoft appears to have removed the waitlist for its new Bing Chat feature, so now anyone can sign up and use the GPT-4-powered chatbot. Windows Central spotted that if you try and sign up for the new Bing, it will simply unlock immediately. The Verge has tested this on multiple Microsoft accounts, and access was granted immediately with an email confirmation.
If you want to try and get access to the new Bing, then head over to bing.com/new and hit the “join waitlist” button and sign in with your Microsoft Account. You should get access immediately.
We asked Microsoft whether it has fully removed the waitlist or if it’s a bug, and communications director Caitlin Roulston said, “During this preview period, we are running various tests which may accelerate access to the new Bing for some users. We remain in preview and you can sign up at Bing.com.”
Microsoft’s waitlist change comes just a day after the company confirmed its Bing AI chatbot has been secretly running on GPT-4, OpenAI’s next-generation AI language model.
The waitlist removal has also occurred a day before Microsoft holds an event where it plans to discuss its AI additions to the company’s Office productivity software. We’re expecting to hear how Microsoft’s ChatGPT-like AI will work in Office apps like Teams, Word, and Outlook. Microsoft also added its Bing AI chatbot to a new sidebar in its Microsoft Edge browser earlier this week.
Microsoft first announced its new Bing AI last month and opened up a waitlist on the same day. The company has been gradually letting people in, with some restrictions on how many questions you can ask per session and per day. These restrictions were put in place to prevent the chatbot from exhibiting “unhinged” behavior. Bing Chat users are now able to have 15 questions per session and a maximum of 150 per day.
Update 4:53PM ET: Added statement from Microsoft.
