Your iPhone's SwiftKey keyboard now has Bing AI baked in

(Image credit: Future)

The next time you're tying away in a group chat and wonder whether you've hit the right tone or not, your keyboard could have the answer.

Microsoft has announced an updated version of the popular SwiftKey keyboard for the iPhone with this one gaining Bing AI powers. Similar to ChatGPT, Bing's own AI is based on OpenAI technology and now it's built right into your keyboard.

Microsoft says that the new AI feature enables three specific options, and they all sound interesting, to say the least.

An AI for everything

Bing announced the new features via a blog post, saying that users can download the updated version of the SwiftKey app and enjoy Search, Chat, and Tone functionality when using its AI.

Search works in the same way you'd expect it to. Choose the option from the SwiftKey keyboard and you'll be able to search the web from your keyboard without switching to a web browser. That's pretty standard Bing fare.

Where things get interesting is the Chat functionality that kicks you into a full-blown chatbot interface.

"With the Chat functionality, you can access the new Bing on the go for more detailed queries," Microsoft says. "It can help if everybody’s cracking jokes in the chat and you need a clever pun, or you’re new to the area and are texting some new friends to propose a good local restaurant."

Things go up another notch when you use Tone, because Microsoft says that you can have the AI decide how to reply to messages so as to make sure they fit the conversation better. "Whether you struggle to be formal in your work emails, or you’re learning a new language and want help with the nuances of word choice, the Tone feature has got you covered, with tones to make your words sound more professional, casual, polite, or concise enough for a social post."

All of that sounds pretty great on the surface, especially when you remember the limitations of Siri. Even the best iPhone can be hamstrung by Siri so the more smarts the better.

The updated SwiftKey is now available for download from the App Store and is completely free.

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too.

Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.