Microsoft’s popular SwiftKey keyboard for Android just got a lot smarter, thanks to the addition of Bing Chat AI. This integration, which began rolling out to SwiftKey Beta users on Wednesday, offers users quick and easy access to Microsoft’s Bing chatbot from within any app.
SwiftKey users can access the Bing chatbot in two ways: chat mode or tone mode. The chat mode offers access to the chatbot as usual, while the tone mode allows users to rewrite text directly within the keyboard. This integration effectively renders the Bing mobile app redundant, as users can now access the chatbot within SwiftKey.
To use the new Bing Chat integration, users will need to download the beta version of SwiftKey from the Google Play Store. While this feature is slowly rolling out, there’s no news yet on when iOS users will be able to try it out. [Update April 13, 2023: Bing AI chatbot integration now available for iOS users via SwiftKey keyboard]
Microsoft discontinued support for SwiftKey on iOS last year but brought it back to the App Store soon after. The company’s CTO of mobile and commerce, Pedram Rezaei, confirmed that Microsoft will be “investing heavily in the keyboard,” which means iOS users may soon be able to access the Bing Chat integration as well. [now available, please read the above update, just above this paragraph]
Microsoft’s acquisition of SwiftKey in 2016 was motivated by the keyboard’s popularity on Android and iOS. With the addition of Bing Chat AI, SwiftKey has become even more intelligent and useful for users.
Microsoft’s move may also be in response to competition from other AI-powered keyboards, such as Paragraph AI, which offers an interface for generating text everywhere and is gaining popularity on iOS.
