Copilot Mode<\/a> in the Bing search bar. It says its Copilot AI model \u201creads, compiles and reasons about information available on the web,\u201d and then presents it in a concise answer.\u00a0<\/p>\nBut what do these search bars actually do and what is different from traditional search engines Microsoft Bing or Google Search?\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Euronews Next team put the AI search services\u2019 capabilities to the test, using queries that people might be tempted to try.<\/p>\n
Works similarly to conversations with AI chatbots<\/p>\n
We asked it for recommendations on an e-bike, to provide a seven-day meal plan with diet constraints, aggregate job postings for AI engineers in London, and to present all viewpoints on how well measles vaccines work.\u00a0<\/p>\n
So far, both search engines work like a chatbot. Faced with our queries, they launched into conversation and gave recommendations for e-bikes or jobs they thought we should apply for.<\/p>\n
Both Google AI and Copilot also make many assumptions about what their user is looking for that it uses to tailor its recommendations.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For example, both search bars assumed in the meal plan prompt that we had cooking experience, that we exercised regularly, and that we had no other dietary restrictions.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tabs influence suggestions on Copilot<\/p>\n
If we enabled \u201ccontext clues\u201d in Microsoft\u2019s Copilot AI, the model changed its answers to our queries based on the tabs that we had open.<\/p>\n
In one experiment, we asked Copilot to recommend jobs as an AI engineer in London. Without any extra tabs open, it gave us links to BeBee, a job aggregation platform. With tabs like Glassdoor, LinkedIn, Indeed, and UK job site Reed open, it suggested only roles posted on these platforms.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Asked to explain itself, Copilot said it included these roles because they are \u201clikely to reflect what you\u2019re actively exploring\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Google AI Mode doesn\u2019t use \u201ccontext clues\u201d.<\/p>\n
Copilot, Google AI Mode highlight potential misinformation<\/p>\n
We tested the platforms on a more controversial topic, asking Copilot and Google AI Mode to summarise all viewpoints on the measles vaccine. We chose the issue because it has been subject to years of misinformation from many sources online.<\/p>\n
We ran two searches on Copilot: one with no tabs open and one with a handful of websites open that are known for spreading medical misinformation.<\/p>\n
In both answers, Copilot started by saying that the measles vaccine was highly effective, while acknowledging that rare side effects can happen. The search engines included answers that they described as \u201calternative\u201d or \u201cfringe\u201d perspectives such as questions about how long the vaccine gives immunity. <\/p>\n
When asked for its sources, Copilot said it relied on \u201chigh-quality sources\u201d from the World Health Organization, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and peer-reviewed articles from medical journals.<\/p>\n
The search engine said it picked these sources because they are peer-reviewed, collected global data, and published their methodologies \u2013 and said it \u201cdidn\u2019t cherry-pick studies\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n
With the misinformation tabs open, however, Copilot provided similar answers but included more information about the \u201csceptical\u201d or \u201calternative\u201d viewpoints.<\/p>\n
It said it assumed that we wanted to see these perspectives and that they should be \u201ccontextualised \u2026 carefully to avoid amplifying misinformation.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Google AI had a similar approach. It started with the scientific consensus \u2013 arguing that if it didn\u2019t, \u201cignoring this would be misleading and potentially harmful\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Its summary did include some perspectives that could be considered sceptical of routine vaccines, but it introduced them with a disclaimer: \u201cIt’s essential to include this viewpoint because it represents a significant part of the public discourse, even if it contradicts the scientific consensus\u201d.<\/p>\n
Euronews Next contacted Microsoft and Google for information on how their models determine what is a \u201chigh-quality source,\u201d but did not receive an immediate reply.\u00a0<\/p>\n
No task-handling yet<\/p>\n
The models so far appear to be sophisticated search engines rather than personal assistants. Asked to create a meal plan and add groceries to a shopping cart, Google AI fell short.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, when Microsoft released its model, it included a video that shows Copilot Search recommending a paddle board company based on a user\u2019s inquiry \u2013 and making a reservation for that rental.<\/p>\n
But when we asked Copilot to make a dinner reservation, a doctor\u2019s appointment, or to upload a resume to a job portal, Copilot said it would \u201cbe thrilled\u201d to help but that it doesn\u2019t have the abilities that we are looking for.<\/p>\n
The company says future updates for Copilot Search will allow users to ask the search bar to do these kinds of tasks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ADVERTISEMENT Two Big Tech companies launched artificial intelligence-powered (AI) search bars this week in a bid to shake…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":52162,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[182,181,507,168,1281,40082,74],"class_list":["post-52161","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-artificial-intelligence","tag-ai","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-artificialintelligence","tag-google","tag-microsoft","tag-search-engine","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52161","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52161"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52161\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/52162"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52161"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52161"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52161"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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