I’m excited to share that Microsoft has launched a groundbreaking search service specifically designed for AI-agents, as agents have unique search requirements compared to humans.
I’ve learned that Microsoft’s latest innovation, Web IQ, is here to bridge AI systems with real-time intelligence online. As a suite of AI-native grounding APIs, Web IQ sources fresh data, be it web pages, news, images, or videos, as announced by Microsoft here.
What is Web IQ? Web IQ is all about connecting AI systems to real-world updates, leveraging Bing’s index for superior understanding. I find it fascinating how it uses the same infrastructure as Microsoft Copilot and other leading LLMs, like ChatGPT.
However, I discovered that Web IQ’s APIs are newly developed for efficiency and relevance, crucial for serving Bing, Copilot, and ChatGPT queries rapidly.
For AI-Agents, Not Humans. Web IQ tailors search results specifically for AI-agents. Unlike human-oriented Bing Search, ranking isn’t a priority here, as agents need swift information extraction, as stated by Jordi Ribas, President of Search & AI at Microsoft.
Unlike us, AI-agents don’t just issue a single query; they delve deeper and continuously expand their search. This paradigm shift meant re-architecting search from indexing to orchestration, aligning it with AI needs, as per Microsoft’s insights.
Given the frequency of searches AI-agents perform, Microsoft designed Web IQ to operate efficiently, minimizing token usage to deliver better and faster results. It’s currently 2.5 times faster than its nearest competitor.
Access and Availability. At present, Web IQ supports Microsoft Copilot, OpenAI’s ChatGPT, and other large LLM platforms. As Microsoft scales this technology, I expect wider access to follow.
If you want to express interest in Web IQ, Microsoft encourages you to visit this page.
Why this Matters. As we witness the web transforming to accommodate agentic technologies, keeping an eye on these developments is vital. Websites, including mine, must evolve alongside these AI advancements.
AI-agents aren’t just a trend; they’re part of the web’s next evolution. I’m preparing to embrace this change, and I suggest you do too.
Inspired by this post on Search Engine Land.
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