Microsoft’s Bing Chat could soon offer a standalone chatbot mode by turning off its search engine capabilities, similar to OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Although Bing Chat is already powered by ChatGPT, it seems that Microsoft is moving in this direction.

A tech news site, Windows Latest, tested the new mode and found that responses were generated faster with the search integration turned off. However, they also noticed that the AI would alternate between providing outdated and up-to-date information depending on the query.

When asked about the latest version of Windows 11, Bing Chat incorrectly responded with version 21H2 instead of the actual version, which is 23H2. However, the AI was able to provide an accurate answer regarding the time of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

This suggests that this version of Bing Chat has been trained using recent data, indicating it may be an amalgamation of different AIs, including GPT 3.5 Turbo and GPT 4.

In order to meet user demand for a faster chatbot, Microsoft is reportedly working on a “no search mode” for Bing Chat. The exact launch date and the number of users who will have access to it are still unknown.

Microsoft has also demonstrated support for third-party plugins in the chatbot, such as the reservation app OpenTable and commerce plugins like Instacart.

However, critics are skeptical about the “offline mode,” as they believe it might result in a less accurate version of Bing Chat. Microsoft is expected to reveal more about its AI technology at the upcoming Ignite event, where the offline mode could be unveiled.

In the meantime, users can explore TechRadar’s list of the best ChatGPT extensions for Chrome.