Microsoft has commenced the rollout of Bing Chat Enterprise in the Windows Copilot Preview for select commercial customers. This development comes after the company's announcement in July, where Bing Chat Enterprise was introduced in preview on http://Bing.com and the Edge sidebar.
Bing Chat Enterprise, an AI-powered chat service, is designed to generate content, analyze data, summarize documents, and even write code. Microsoft assures users that data used with Bing Chat Enterprise will not be shared outside their organization and won't be saved. Furthermore, Microsoft won't have direct access to this data.
According to the official announcement by the Windows Insider Program Team, the user experience with Bing Chat Enterprise will closely resemble the existing Bing Chat. However, the branding will reflect the enterprise version, and users will be reminded that both personal and corporate data remains protected.
Data Protection and Compliance
For IT professionals and those in charge of data protection and compliance, the changes are more nuanced. Bing Chat Enterprise promises organizations the ability to use Windows Copilot with the confidence that their data remains secure. The chat data isn't saved, Microsoft doesn't have direct access, and the data isn't used to train the underlying AI models.
The service is now available to members of the Windows Insider Program in the Dev Channel who are commercial users. It will soon be extended to eligible commercial members in the Beta Channel. Enterprises that have already activated Bing Chat Enterprise on http://Bing.com won't need to take additional steps to enable it in the Windows Copilot Preview.
Future Plans
Introduced in May, Windows Copilot provides Windows 11 users with a generative AI assistant. It's anticipated to be available to all Windows 11 users as part of a future update later this year. Additionally, Microsoft has plans to offer Bing Chat Enterprise in a standalone subscription, priced at $5 per user per month.
In Windows 11, Copilot could become what Microsoft originally envisioned Cortana would be. A true platform-wide assistant that provides natural speech responses. The Windows Copilot means that Windows 11 becomes the first PC operating system to provide a centralized AI assistant.
Microsoft recently brought Bing Chat Enterprise to its Education platform earlier this month. The tool aims to enhance search experiences in the education sector. This tool is designed to assist educators in planning lessons and creating content for their students. Once Bing Chat Enterprise is enabled, faculty members can access it via http://Bing.com/chat or the Microsoft Edge sidebar when signed in with their Microsoft Entra ID.
