- Microsoft Edge’s latest version gets Bing Chat AI integration.
- The integration brings a new flyout with access to the chatbot, compose tool, and insights features.
- Version 111 also ships with sidebar and new tab improvements and various fixes.
Microsoft begins the rollout of the Edge version 111.0.1661.41, which introduces the Bing Chat AI to the browser and various other improvements (including changes for the sidebar, IE mode, and tab page) to the stable channel for Windows 11, 10, macOS, and Linux.
Although the software giant constantly releases updates for its Microsoft Edge browser, this version introduces the “Edge Copilot,” a new feature that integrates the new Bing chatbot directly into the browser.
After updating the browser to version 111.0.1661.41, you will notice a new Bing (Discover) button on the top-right corner that brings up a new flyout overlay that allows you to interact with the Bing Chat AI.
The integration includes three tabs, “Chat,” “Compose,” and “Insights.” The “Chat” tab is the same experience you will get when using the chatbot on Bing.com. You can set the tone of response (Creative, Balanced, or Precise), ask complex questions, and use the broom button to close and open a new chat session.
If you already have access to the new Bing, you will be able to access the chatbot and the other features from Microsoft Edge. Otherwise, you will have to sign up and wait until you receive the invitation to access the new Bing experience.
The “Compose” tab allows you to use the new Bing to help you create different types of content formats. In the “Write about” box, you can specify the details of the requirements for the message.
You can also choose a tone (Professional, Casual, Enthusiastic, Informational, or Funny) the AI should use to create the message.
The “Format” option allows you to specify the type of content you want to write, such as a paragraph, email, blog post, or ideas. You can even suggest the length of the text.
Once you set the parameters, click the “Compose draft” button to get a preview of the content, which you review and update before sending or publishing.
The “Insights” tab is a content-aware feature that understands the context of the web page you are viewing and surface related information. This feature seems more like suggestions from Bing than AI-generated information.
In addition, this new version of Microsoft Edge improves sidebar visibility with new auto-hide functionality, and you can choose to view the sidebar only when hovering over the Bing (Discovery) button.
Microsoft is also rolling out a new experience to the Microsoft 365 tab of the Edge Enterprise New Tab Page. The new experience includes a new layout that centers on a larger version of the Microsoft Feed, featuring more productivity content. It moves the productivity cards, including Important Emails, Recent SharePoint sites, Upcoming events, and To Do to the right-hand side of the Microsoft 365 tab.
Finally, when closing the browser, the company applies a new policy to clear the IE mode data. Users can also configure this setting in the ‘Clear browsing data for Internet Explorer’ option on Settings’ Privacy, search, and services page.
The company outlines all the changes in this release in the official release notes for Microsoft Edge. The update will download and install automatically, but you can always update manually from Settings > About Microsoft Edge (edge://settings/help).
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 15 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 21 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].