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Microsoft Adds New Bing to Windows Computers in Effort to Roll out AI

26 March 2021, Bavaria, Munich: The Microsoft logo hangs on the facade of an office building in Parkstadt Schwabing, in the north of the Bavarian capital. (dpa)
26 March 2021, Bavaria, Munich: The Microsoft logo hangs on the facade of an office building in Parkstadt Schwabing, in the north of the Bavarian capital. (dpa)
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Microsoft Adds New Bing to Windows Computers in Effort to Roll out AI

26 March 2021, Bavaria, Munich: The Microsoft logo hangs on the facade of an office building in Parkstadt Schwabing, in the north of the Bavarian capital. (dpa)
26 March 2021, Bavaria, Munich: The Microsoft logo hangs on the facade of an office building in Parkstadt Schwabing, in the north of the Bavarian capital. (dpa)

Microsoft Corp on Tuesday started adding its recently upgraded Bing search engine to its Windows computer software, aiming to put artificial intelligence (AI) at the fingertips of hundreds of millions of people.

The Windows 11 update, Microsoft's latest in a flurry of product revamps this month, shows how the Redmond, Washington-based software maker is marching ahead on AI notwithstanding recent scrutiny of its technology.

Microsoft's operating system will include the new Bing in desktop computers' search box, which helps half a billion monthly users navigate their files and the internet, the company said.

The search engine itself is still in a preview mode, accessible to more than 1 million people in 169 countries with a wait list for others, Microsoft said.

The company unveiled its AI-powered chatbot for Bing as it aims to wrest market share from Alphabet Inc's Google, moving faster with ChatGPT-like software for search.

Microsoft has been gathering feedback on the new Bing before a wider rollout. The engine's AI chatbot reportedly professed love or made threats to some testers, leading the company to cap long chats it said "provoked" responses it did not intend.

In addition to the new Bing, Microsoft's Windows update will include software that can connect to iPhone messages and calls starting with a limited set of users, the company said.

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Google Holds Illegal Monopolies in Ad Tech, US Judge Finds, Allowing US to Seek Breakup

A man walks past Google's offices in London's Kings Cross area, on Aug. 10, 2024. (AP)
A man walks past Google's offices in London's Kings Cross area, on Aug. 10, 2024. (AP)
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Google Holds Illegal Monopolies in Ad Tech, US Judge Finds, Allowing US to Seek Breakup

A man walks past Google's offices in London's Kings Cross area, on Aug. 10, 2024. (AP)
A man walks past Google's offices in London's Kings Cross area, on Aug. 10, 2024. (AP)

Alphabet's Google illegally dominated two markets for online advertising technology, a judge ruled on Thursday, dealing another blow to the tech giant and paving the way for US antitrust prosecutors to seek a breakup of its advertising products.

US District Judge Leonie Brinkema in Alexandria, Virginia, found Google liable for "willfully acquiring and maintaining monopoly power" in markets for publisher ad servers and the market for ad exchanges which sit between buyers and sellers. Publisher ad servers are platforms used by websites to store and manage their ad inventory.

Antitrust enforcers failed to prove a separate claim that the company had a monopoly in advertiser ad networks, she wrote.

Lee-Anne Mulholland, vice president of Regulatory Affairs, said Google will appeal the ruling.

"We won half of this case and we will appeal the other half," she said, adding that the company disagrees with the decision on its publisher tools. "Publishers have many options and they choose Google because our ad tech tools are simple, affordable and effective."

Google's shares were down around 2.1% at midday.

The decision clears the way for another hearing to determine what Google must do to restore competition in those markets, such as sell off parts of its business at another trial that has yet to be scheduled.

The DOJ has said that Google should have to sell off at least its Google Ad Manager, which includes the company's publisher ad server and ad exchange.

Google now faces the possibility of two US courts ordering it to sell assets or change its business practices. A judge in Washington will hold a trial next week on the DOJ's request to make Google sell its Chrome browser and take other measures to end its dominance in online search.

Google has previously explored selling off its ad exchange to appease European antitrust regulators, Reuters reported in September.

Brinkema oversaw a three-week trial last year on claims brought by the DOJ and a coalition of states.

Google used classic monopoly-building tactics of eliminating competitors through acquisitions, locking customers in to using its products, and controlling how transactions occurred in the online ad market, prosecutors said at trial.

Google argued the case focused on the past, when the company was still working on making its tools able to connect to competitors' products. Prosecutors also ignored competition from technology companies including Amazon.com and Comcast as digital ad spending shifted to apps and streaming video, Google's lawyer said.