Bing Adds an AI-Off Switch for Chrome That Also Sets Bing as the Default Search Engine
TLDR
Bing now hides AI answers when -ai is added to a query, and the same switch is tied to making Bing the default search engine in Chrome.
Optimixed Overview
Optimixed's original report on this story.
Adding -ai to any Bing query hides AI answers, according to PPC Land. The report notes that advertisers have received no information about what happens to their ads under this change, and it asks whether Chrome users will switch away from Google to get the toggle.
How we got here: earlier coverage
- Nov 9Microsoft Places Search and Shopping Ads at the Top of Bing AI Mode Results
Microsoft is now showing both standard search ads and shopping ads at the top of Bing AI Mode results, which was formerly called Copilot Search.
- Oct 31Google and Bing will honor a shared robots.txt signal to block AI training
Google and Bing said they will honor a shared robots.txt signal that blocks AI training, and a study put AI Overviews click-through at 0.9%.
- Oct 30Microsoft Unveils Bing AI Controls That Separate Training and Grounding Choices
Microsoft announced new Bing AI content controls that let site owners make separate choices about training, grounding, or both, while staying eligible for Bing search results.
- Sep 25Bing Tests Replacing Copilot With AI Mode in Search Tabs
Microsoft is testing renaming Bing's Copilot search tab to AI Mode, aligning its naming with Google's terminology.