Microsoft has announced a swathe of updates to Bing.com, the third-largest search engine, like integration with GrubHub and OpenTable, a new events vertical, and search results with links that have been "liked" on Facebook. The updates will roll out over the next few weeks.
"The core of our work addresses the fact that the web is getting more complex and faceted- not less," Satya Nadella, senior vice president of Microsoft's online services division, wrote in a blog post.
At a Bing Search Summit held in San Francisco today, Microsoft previewed some of the updates.
Probably the most significant, and exclusive, update is the expansion of a partnership with Facebook, which was announced in October. Bing search results will now identify which results have been "liked" by Facebook friends.
Bing has also decreased the effort it takes to search with Instant Answer, which draws up a collage of potentially relevant images upon a search.
"Instead of making you qualify that you're looking for (Casablanca, Morocco or Casablanca, the movie), we have organized the tabs so that one simple click gets you to what you're looking for," explained Jamil Valliani in a blog post.
Updates to Bing's mobile iOS and Android apps align the browser closer to Google. Upcoming features include street-level imagery, check-in features, and real-time public transit information. Bing for Mobile has also partnered with OpenTable and Grubhub to provide faster restaurant search results based on select criteria.
Meanwhile, desktop Bing users will be able to view real-time, 360-degree panoramic views of restaurants, like what Google incorporated in Google Maps. Microsoft also launched "Bing Vision," a Google Goggles-like software app that can identify barcodes, CDs and DVDs, and other objects.
Through a tie-up with FanSnap, Bing has launched an 'Events' vertical where users can search and directly purchase tickets to events. This feature incorporates search results from more 57 ticket companies, according to Microsoft.
Editor's Note: This story was updated on Dec. 16 with additional details.