Microsoft is giving Bing Search APIs a huge price hike as it continues AI push
>
Microsoft will implement price increases for developer access to the Bing Search Application Program Interface (API) for all markets from May 2023.
Announcement of the change in a blog post (opens in new tab) (via The registers (opens in new tab)), Microsoft has said existing pricing plans will increase starting May 1, 2023. Oddly enough, the same statement says that as of the same date “you will be charged the new price for all Microsoft Bing APIs”.
It will not be possible here to become “established” in the old pricing models, as is often the case with price increases in subscription services, as the subscriptions are pay-as-you-go rather than an ongoing subscription.
Bing’s API price is rising
The only unchanged part of the existing model is the free offer, which allows for 1,000 free transactions per month. But even the cheapest paid offering sees a 257% increase, putting everyone else in a dire straits.
The changes may have something to do with it Bing announces investment of “billion dollars” in OpenAIand the inclusion of ChatGPT in the search engine (albeit behind a waiting list), in February 2023.
It’s possible that the upcoming changes to Bing will increase Microsoft’s overheads, or that it’s just riding the PR wave around AI’s capabilities when applied to ubiquitous consumer tech like web browsers.
Either way, developers have to decide whether to continue with a Bing that’s finally having its day in the sun, or vote with their wallets and look elsewhere.