Andrew Heinzman
Microsoft’s SwiftKey is arguably the smartest keyboard app. It allows you to quickly type using gestures, and its predictive text algorithm is surprisingly effective. But SwiftKey is getting even smarter thanks to new Bing AI integration, now available in the Android SwiftKey Beta.
Update, 4/14/23: The Bing AI is now available in SwiftKey for iOS.
We shouldn’t be surprised by this development. After all, Microsoft is aggressively plugging Bing AI into all of its apps, products, and services. But SwiftKey rarely gets the attention it deserves, and it often feels like Microsoft neglects this virtual keyboard—we’re glad that SwiftKey is getting some love.
Anyway, the experience here is pretty straightforward. The SwiftKey Beta app now features a big Bing button in its toolbar. Pressing this button reveals three functions; Search, Tone, and Chat.
The Search function allows you to search the web without opening a new app or browser. SwiftKey originally added this Bing Search tool in 2018, but it was removed a few years later for reasons that are still unclear. I hesitate to call Search an AI feature, but I’m happy to see its return.
SwiftKey’s new Tone tool is a bit more interesting. It allows you to adjust the tone of your writing in any app (using Bing’s AI). And, of course, the Chat button simply opens a pop-up version of the Bing chatbot—you could use this to compose material for an email or message, though the experience is still a bit clunky.
Again, you need the latest Android SwiftKey Beta to test these new features. You also need to sign in with a Microsoft account and activate the Bing AI. (If you activate this AI through SwiftKey, it will ask you to join a waitlist. Don’t worry; it will immediately grant access without a waiting period.) Support for iOS arrived on April 14th.
Source: Microsoft
