Wolfram Alpha becomes the latest Bing weapon
Microsoft has begun using tools from the Wolfram Alpha service within the results for Bing. It could serve as a valuable way of differentiating Bing from rival search sites.
The service, launched by British physicist Steven Wolfram aims to answer questions rather than merely provide links to information. It does this by deciphering exactly what the user wants to know, then using both the web and private data sources to calculate the correct answer. The service more useful for science-based questions than humanities or the arts, but is claimed to make use of “trillions of pieces of curated data”.
The two sides reached a search agreement in August but have only just added the tools to public searches on Bing. It’s being done on a case-by-case basis, meaning that Wolfram Alpha results (or rather, answers) will only show up for a pre-determined list of searches.
Among the early tools available through the partnership are calculators for working out nutritional values or measurements under the Body Mass Index. Bing will also use Wolfram Alpha to give direct answers to mathematical queries which are more complicated than those which can be handled by Google itself.
Of course, it’s not exactly a major struggle to get this information from other sites which are easy enough to find through any search engine. But it does take Bing a tiny step closer to its goal of being people’s first destination when they have any query online. Whether that goal is reachable in a world with Google remains to be seen.
It’s also a great outlet for Wolfram Alpha, promoting both its own site and the benefits of partnering with it. The firm’s publicist told Daily Tech that the Microsoft deal was not exclusive and that he fully expects similar tools to be picked up by other Web sites and services.
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