Bing on Edge barges in on Bard

Microsoft’s Edge can be a great Chromium browser alternative to Google’s Chrome, but the former is displaying some annoying new rivalry antics: advertising Microsoft’s Bing AI chatbot while you’re trying out Google’s Bard AI. As pointed out by developer and Twitter user Vitor de Lucca, a new developer version of Edge will now display a new Bing ad next to the Google Bard URL.

When pointing Edge to bard.google.com, a new animated “compare answers with the AI-powered new Bing” slide appears in the upper-right side of Edge’s address bar. Then, the text slides back to the right and leaves behind a Bing icon that seems pretty redundant considering a similar icon is off to the right by default.

Screenshot: Tom Warren / The Verge

But what seems intrusive can also be clever. What’s different about this new Bing icon is that it activates Microsoft Edge’s new split view so you can literally compare answers with Google’s Bard. It’s a bit more useful than Edge’s prompts to steer you away from Chrome.

The new Bing AI ad shows up on both current Mac (version 114.0.1807.1) and PC versions of Microsoft Edge developer. And it’s yet another sign of what might be the next big chapter in tech: how AI chatbots are rewriting the internet.