Consultants Review Team

Microsoft's focus on its AI companion Copilot appears to be taking precedence over its revamped Bing search engine, as evidenced by the tech giant's latest Super Bowl advertisement, suggesting a shift in the company's priorities.

The Super Bowl ad, unveiled on Wednesday, showcases Copilot's standalone smartphone app's capabilities, which can respond to user queries similar to OpenAI's ChatGPT. In the one-minute promotional video, various individuals are depicted using Copilot to generate storyboard images, write code for a 3-D game, and create a quiz on organic chemistry.

The decision to emphasize Copilot over Bing chat, Microsoft's AI-powered search engine launched months earlier, may reflect a strategic move. Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft's executive vice president and consumer chief marketing officer, explained in an interview with The Verge that the company consolidated its efforts under the Copilot brand, rebranding Bing chat to streamline its offerings.

This shift may stem from Bing chat's lukewarm reception among users, failing to gain significant traction against Google's dominant search engine. Despite adding AI capabilities to Bing, it captured only around 3% of the search market, compared to Google's commanding 91% share between February 2023 and January 2024, according to Statcounter data.

Mehdi acknowledged Bing's limited impact on the search landscape but emphasized that even modest growth in market share holds significance for Microsoft and promotes healthy competition.

Microsoft's transition from Bing to Copilot aligns with its broader strategy to integrate Copilot across its product ecosystem. Originally introduced as a feature within Microsoft's Office suite apps, Copilot has since been integrated into Windows 10 and Windows 11 through a software update, offering users convenient access by pressing the Windows and C keys simultaneously.

Looking ahead, Microsoft plans to introduce a dedicated Copilot button on Windows 11 PC keyboards, slated for release later in February. This move underscores Microsoft's commitment to leveraging AI technology to enhance productivity and user experiences across its platforms