Microsoft packs Bing search engine, Edge browser with AI in big challenge to Google

Microsoft Corp is revamping its Bing search engine and Edge Web browser with artificial intelligence, the company said, signaling its ambition to retake the lead in consumer technology markets where it has fallen behind.

The maker of the Windows operating system is staking its future on AI through billions of dollars of investment as it directly challenges Alphabet Inc’s Google, which for years has outpaced Microsoft in search and browser technology.

Now, Microsoft is rolling out an intelligent chatbot to live alongside Bing’s search results, putting AI that can summarise web pages, synthesise disparate sources, even compose emails and translate them into more consumers’ hands.