With all this talk about how search is going to be more useful and helpful with the new AI features in Bing, very few are talking about ads in that interface. Nicole Farley at Search Engine Land has a screenshot of an ad spotted in the ChatGPT interface within Bing's new search results.
Here is her screenshot; click to enlarge it:
You can see, that when you hover your mouse over the citation, it loads the sites it gets the answer from but above it, it also shows an ad above those citations.
This is in addition to the standard search ads you get at the top left, which I showcased in this tweet:
Microsoft did post a statement about ads in the new Bing, saying:
that the new AI-powered Microsoft Bing and Edge are available in preview is incredibly exciting. Not only for the future of consumers, but for our advertisers. Microsoft’s ability to understand complex queries in greater depth and precision, as well as the rich insight we will gain into user intent through deep conversational engagement, will deliver smarter and more actionable opportunities for advertisers to engage with customers. With deeply personalized experiences we expect to be able to deliver even more relevant messages to consumers, with the goal of improved ROI for advertisers. And as usage expands, we expect to see greater volume leading to more opportunities for advertisers to reach their desired customers.The potential of this new technology is still being explored, but we know that this fundamental change of the search engine experience will give us new opportunities to rethink traditional ad experiences – together. We look forward to innovating with you.
It is just interesting to see how ads will make its way into the new user experience and interfaces.
Forum discussion at Twitter.
Update: Microsoft is demoing some of this to advertisers, more on this below:
Source: Microsoft is demoing Bing chatbot to ad agencies, with plans for paid links within the chatbox responses and industry-specific ads (@sheila_dang / Reuters)https://t.co/itqsT4g1jWhttps://t.co/klgdkTxbxv
— Techmeme (@Techmeme) February 17, 2023
More ad examples I am personally finding:
legal ads in Bing AI chat pic.twitter.com/t6oBg9y6qZ
— Barry Schwartz (@rustybrick) February 21, 2023
Now also showing an "ad" label in the annotations:
Now with ads pic.twitter.com/QHOaKDtdcz
— Ig (@_Cybershota) February 24, 2023
And the ads can show up above OR below the citation overlays:
Bing AI chat can show ads above OR below the citation overlays - more Bing AI chat ad examples at https://t.co/70tszV10L7 pic.twitter.com/Km3BNp2aHC
— Barry Schwartz (@rustybrick) February 24, 2023
Larger image ads?
@Marie_Haynes I'm seeing ads in my Bing AI chat... is this something that's being tested that you know of? pic.twitter.com/FhnZlgby9Q
— Jeroen Driehuis (@jeroen3huis) February 21, 2023
See this pic.twitter.com/Up8b6lXSp2
— Shameem Adhikarath (@shemiadhikarath) April 4, 2023