Microsoft has announced a significant price increase for its Bing Search APIs, with costs expected to triple or even rise tenfold in some cases. The move is part of the company's efforts to recover investments made into the search engine, including the integration of OpenAI's ChatGPT technology.
Beginning on May 1, 2023, the new pricing model will be applicable to all Microsoft Bing APIs. These include Image Search, Video Search, News Search, Visual Search, Entity Search, Web Search, Autosuggest, and Spell Check. According to a company spokesperson, the updated pricing more accurately reflects the ongoing technology investments Microsoft has made into Bing to enhance Search experiences, such as Bing Visual Search and Bing Entity Search.
In a recent announcement, Microsoft revealed its plan to invest $10 billion in OpenAI. This news follows reports of the company's intentions to integrate ChatGPT with Bing. The unique approach taken by ChatGPT showcases a new method of internet searching and query responses using conversational language, presenting an alternative to Google's current offering of linked search results.
As of November 2022, Google continues to dominate the global market share for internet search with over 91%, while Bing's share remains low at 2.95%, according to similarweb.com. The increase in API prices can also be attributed to the inclusion of OpenAPI's ChatGPT engine within Bing. A Microsoft spokesperson said that customers would benefit from improved AI integrations enhancing the Bing search index experience.
The price hike will be significant, particularly for Bing Search and Bing Image Search APIs, with increases ranging from 3x to 10x across different tiers. For example, in the S1 category, which allows 250 transactions per second, the new pricing for Web Search will be set at $25 per 1,000 transactions, up from the current cost of $7 per 1,000 transactions. Similarly, Bing Image Search's new pricing will be $25 per 25,000 transactions, as opposed to the previous $7 for the same number of transactions.
Meanwhile, in the S2 category, which accommodates 100 transactions per second, the new Web Search pricing will rise to $15 per 1,000 transactions from the existing $3 per 1,000 transactions. Bing Autosuggest's pricing for the same category will also jump from $3 to $15 per 10,000 transactions. Other tiers, including the optional Bing Statistics Add-on, will see price hikes proportionate to the increases seen in the examples above.
Tech companies like AppMaster that incorporate Bing API services in their platforms and solutions may need to evaluate these price changes and adjust their pricing models accordingly. AppMaster's no-code platform allows clients to create backend, web, and mobile applications effortlessly, making it an ideal tool for saving development time and resources while navigating the changing landscape of search engines and APIs.
