Bing Chat AI brings new features for Android and iPhone (including widget)

Microsoft pushes a slew of welcome updates for its Bing Chat AI on Android, iOS, and for the web.

Bing Chat AI widget
Bing Chat AI widget / Image: Microsoft
  • Microsoft is rolling out new features and changes for Bing Chat AI on mobile.
  • The update brings improvements to the Edge, Bing, Skype, and SwiftKey mobile apps.
  • Among other things, Edge mobile will now be aware of the web content you’re viewing.
  • Bing app gets continuous chat and mobile widgets, and SwiftKey gets a new Compose feature.

Microsoft has announced a new round of updates coming for its Bing Chat AI on mobile devices. In the release, the company is improving contextual chat for the mobile version of Microsoft Edge. Android and iOS users can access the chatbot using a new widget, and conversations now sync between desktop and mobile devices.

Microsoft Edge mobile

The first update is contextual chat in the Android and iOS versions of Microsoft Edge. The new feature allows the chatbot to scan the contents of the page you’re viewing for context, and then, you can ask questions about the information on the page and even ask to get a summary.

Furthermore, the browser also includes an option that you’ll soon allow you to select some text, and Bing Chat will summarize or explain it.

Bing app mobile

The second update brings the ability to continue the conversation across platforms. This means you can now start a chat on the desktop and then continue on your mobile device (and vice versa). For instance, you can query the chatbot about a recipe on the desktop and then continue on the phone at the grocery store, asking about an alternative ingredient.

According to the company, to access this feature, you will have to click on the answer on the desktop, then select the phone icon in the options menu to view the barcode. Scan it to open on your phone. This feature will arrive for Android and iOS in the coming days.

As part of the expansion of the Bing Chat AI, Microsoft says that it has increased the country and language support for voice input and improved the quality of non-English chats.

In addition, the Bing app is getting a new Chat widget that you can add to your iOS or Android home screen. The widget will allow you to interact quickly with the chatbot using typing or voice. As you ask a question, the answer will appear on an overlay on the home screen.

SwiftKey app mobile

In addition to the recent AI integration, Microsoft is now bringing the Compose feature to SwiftKey. The new feature will allow you to draft content based on your suggested parameters, including tone, format, and length. For example, you can use this feature to email a service provider asking for a resolution on an issue. Quickly edit the drafted email to ensure the details are correct, then send it.

Furthermore, the SwiftKey app now includes a translator that uses AI to make it easier to translate content from different languages.

To use this feature, you must click the “Bing” button in the ribbon above the SwiftKey keyboard, click the “Translate” option, and choose the languages to translate to and from, then type or paste the text, and the feature will drop the translated text right into the message field.

Finally, the keyboard is also getting two additional tones, including witty and funny.

Skype app mobile

Also, the Skype app for mobile is getting Bing Chat in group chats. If you still use Skype, you can now tag “@Bing” in a conversation, and the chatbot will respond to queries and conversations.

This new round of updates comes only days after the company announced several other features and changes for the Bing Chat AI experience.

For example, when asking a question, the chatbot can now include images in the responses to explain the answer better. Let’s say you ask Bing questions about flamingos or capybaras, then a picture of these animals will appear as part of the answer.

Microsoft has also updated the visual design for elements that appear at the end of text-based answers to improve the experience for shopping, weather, finance, and autos.

Furthermore, this update improves the copy-and-paste experience when Bing chat generates code or other blocks of formatted text. Also, when inserting a prompt into Bing chat, you can include formatting like paragraphs, bullets, or numbering.

About the author

Mauro Huculak is a Windows How-To Expert who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He has also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 14 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows and software, including Android and Linux. Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 20 years of combined experience in technology. Throughout his career, he achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft (MSCA), Cisco (CCNP), VMware (VCP), and CompTIA (A+ and Network+), and he has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me. Email him at [email protected].