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.



Samsung Expects a 56% Drop in Q2 Operating Profit, Far Short of Estimates

The logo of Samsung Electronics is seen at its headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, on July 4, 2016. (Reuters)
The logo of Samsung Electronics is seen at its headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, on July 4, 2016. (Reuters)
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Samsung Expects a 56% Drop in Q2 Operating Profit, Far Short of Estimates

The logo of Samsung Electronics is seen at its headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, on July 4, 2016. (Reuters)
The logo of Samsung Electronics is seen at its headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, on July 4, 2016. (Reuters)

Samsung Electronics on Tuesday projected a 56% drop in second-quarter operating profit from a year earlier, missing analysts' estimates by far.

Its chip business struggled with weak sales of artificial intelligence chips, dogged by delays in the supply of its latest chips to Nvidia and continued losses in its contract chip manufacturing business, analysts said.

The world's largest memory chipmaker estimated an operating profit of 4.6 trillion won for the April-June period, versus a 6.2 trillion won LSEG SmartEstimate.

That would compare with 10.4 trillion won in the same period a year earlier and 6.7 trillion won in the preceding quarter.

Revenue would likely fall 0.1% to 74 trillion won from a year earlier, the filing showed.

Samsung is expected to release detailed results, including a breakdown of earnings for each of its businesses, in late July.