Microsoft has rolled out real-time web search to Copilot, enabling the AI assistant to access current information from the web when answering questions.

What's New

Live Information Access

  • Current news and events
  • Real-time stock prices and market data
  • Latest weather and traffic updates
  • Recent product releases and reviews

Enhanced Accuracy

  • Cites sources for all web-based information
  • Combines web data with AI knowledge
  • Provides timestamps for information freshness
  • Filters reliable sources automatically

Key Features

Smart Source Selection

Copilot prioritizes:

  • Authoritative news sources
  • Official company websites
  • Government and academic institutions
  • Recently updated content

Seamless Integration

User: "What's the latest news about React 19?"
Copilot: "Based on recent web sources, React 19 was announced 
yesterday with new features including... [Sources: React Blog, 
GitHub, Tech News - Updated 2 hours ago]"

Available in These Scenarios:

  • Breaking news and current events
  • Stock market and financial data
  • Weather and local information
  • Product availability and pricing
  • Sports scores and schedules
  • Technical documentation updates

Performance Impact

Early users report:

  • Response accuracy: 35% improvement for time-sensitive queries
  • Source reliability: 90% of citations from verified sources
  • Response time: Average 2.3 seconds (vs 1.1s for cached responses)
The feature uses Bing's search index and applies the same safety filters as Bing Chat, ensuring reliable and appropriate results.

Availability

Real-time web search is rolling out to:

  • Copilot Pro subscribers: Available now
  • Enterprise customers: Next week
  • Free tier users: Limited to 5 web searches per day
"Having current information makes Copilot significantly more useful for research and decision-making. It's like having a research assistant that never sleeps." - Product Manager at TechCorp

This update positions Microsoft Copilot as a more comprehensive AI assistant, competing directly with ChatGPT Plus and Google Bard's web search capabilities.