Well, that didn't take long. Ads have officially landed in Bing Chat.
Yesterday, Microsoft confirmed that it is testing the waters with:
- Ads in the chat experience
- And also an expanded hover feature that displays more links from a publisher when hovering over a link
The ads are said to have been in testing for more than a month, but it looks like it's now leaking out to the public results.
🤖 New Ad Formats
Unfortunately, Microsoft continues to withhold details, and the ads are confusing. According to Gizmodo, there are at least two different types of ad formats currently appearing in the AI chatbot.
One type appears to be promoted shopping links that show up as a separate bubble in the chat and offer Microsoft a kickback if items are purchased (i.e. affiliate links).
However, the bubble itself does not indicate that it’s an ad.
As for the second ad format, sponsored responses are clearly labelled ‘Ad'. However, the report noted it is difficult to determine exactly what is being advertised, and in some cases how the ad affects the rest of the text. And in one example, the in-chat ad related to Honda cars actually presented inaccurate information.
While the new era of search ads may be here, there is still a long way to go.
