Microsoft has announced a new feature for its popular SwiftKey keyboard app for Android devices. Specifically, the company is integrating its Bing Chat AI search directly into the popular virtual keyboard.
The AI-based search engine, which is powered by OpenAI's GPT-4 model, aims to provide users with more personalized and relevant search results by generating natural language responses based on their queries. Microsoft's integration of GPT-4 into Bing Chat last month also brought multimodal AI capabilities including Bing Image Creator and recently the ability to search images and videos.
Bing Chat is available in the SwiftKey beta app, which can be downloaded from the Google Play Store. Users need to sign in with their Microsoft account to use the feature. Once enabled, a Bing icon will appear on the top left corner of the keyboard. Tapping on it will open a chat window where users can type or speak to Bing.
Bing Chat in SwiftKey has two modes: chat and tone. In chat mode, users can have a natural conversation with Bing, similar to using the Bing mobile app or website. Bing can answer queries, provide facts, generate content, and offer suggestions for the next user turn.
In tone mode, users can select a tone from a list of options, such as formal, casual, funny, or sarcastic, and Bing will rewrite any text within the keyboard according to that tone. On Twitter, Microsoft watcher XenoPanther showed screenshots of the integration:
Bing Chat is coming to SwiftKey. Download the latest SwiftKey beta and sign in to your MSA.
Reposted with cleaner screenshots. pic.twitter.com/dBss7gnOzn— Xeno (@XenoPanther) April 5, 2023
Future of Expansion of SwiftKey with Bing Chat
Microsoft's CTO of mobile and commerce, Pedram Rezaei, said that the feature is “slowly rolling out” to SwiftKey beta users and that it is part of Microsoft's vision to bring AI to everyone. He also hinted that more features and improvements are coming soon.
There is no word on when Bing Chat will be available on SwiftKey for iOS devices. Microsoft discontinued support for SwiftKey on iOS last year, but later restored it after backlash from users. Rezaei said that Microsoft is “investing heavily in the keyboard” and that iOS users can expect some updates in the future.
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