Microsoft limits Bing chats to 5 questions per session

Microsoft said on Friday (Feb 17) it will limit chat sessions on its new Bing search engine powered by generative artificial intelligence (AI) to five questions per session and 50 questions per day.

"As we mentioned recently, very long chat sessions can confuse the underlying chat model in the new Bing. To address these issues, we have implemented some changes to help focus the chat sessions," Microsoft said in the blog post.

Microsoft's decision comes days after some media outlets reported that answers from the new Bing search engine were potentially dangerous and that the technology might not be ready for prime time.

Early search results and conversations with Microsoft's Bing and Google's chatbot, called Bard, have shown they can be unpredictable.

This week, when a Reuters reporter asked the new version of Bing outfitted with AI for the price of car air filters, Bing included advertisements for filters sold by auto parts website Parts Geek, not merely specific answers to the question.

The new Bing, which has a wait list of millions of people for access, is a potentially lucrative opportunity for Microsoft. The company said during an investor and press presentation last week that every percentage point of market share it gains in the search advertising market could bring in another US$2 billion (S$2.7 billion) of ad revenue. 

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