The internet acts as a portal to limitless knowledge, but it also threatens to bury users under an avalanche of information. To combat this, Bing’s ‘perspective engine’ goes above and beyond the call of duty for a search engine, opting to put results in context to help people process what they find online. We explore the insights behind the search engine, and why Bing is taking a more human approach to digital landscapes.
With Google controlling 82% of the search engine market, Microsoft is revamping its version of search to direct more users back to Bing. The service is shifting away from simply being a search engine to a 'perspective engine'. Microsoft says this will help people understand their results by putting them in perspective, rather than just displaying information. Bing will lay out opposing sides of an argument or express abstract concepts in concrete terms. For example, when searching for the calorie content of a certain food, it will also display the amount of time it will take to burn those calories off by running.
Bing’s change of approach caters to the need for quality over quantity in an age when people are overloaded with information. Despite the vast knowledge available at people’s fingertips, many are struggling to dissect and digest it – one-in-five Americans admit to being overwhelmed by information. As online spaces become more stressful than helpful, Bing is presenting itself as the option where information is streamlined and contextualised – and so, more useful.
With its perspective engine, Microsoft is taking on Google through innovating its human appeal, rather than attempting to outdo the search behemoth’s technology. It’s a move that echoes Mozilla’s focus on the ethical upper hand that Firefox has over Google Chrome, rather than attempting to sell users solely on browser speed. Google Search might have mastered information sorting, while Chrome has cornered the quickest browsing, but with Mozilla’s appeal to ethics and Bing’s recognition of the human experience of the digital landscape, Microsoft could present itself as a very real challenger to Google's dominance.
Mira Kopolovic is a behavioural analyst at Canvas8, which specialises in behavioural insights and consumer research. She has a Master’s degree that focused on visual culture and artist-brand collaborations, and spends her spare time poring over dystopian literature.
