Bing Gets Technical: Rolls Out Code, Software Download & Microsoft-Related Search Updates

Aiming to make its search results more “developer friendly,” Bing says it has streamlined API, code and non-alphanumeric queries, made software download searches safer and added instant answers to the top of search results for Microsoft-related technology queries.

Using a side-by-side comparison against Google search results for a “c# hashtag example” query, Bing illustrated how code-related searches on Bing now include the actual code near the top of the results:

The search engine says it is also paying attention to queries with non-alphanumeric characters, such as “::(scope), ++(operators), and () (function):

Bing has given special treatment to such technical queries, so that the context is preserved and we show relevant results on top.

In addition, Bing has updated software related searches as well. Using factors like cost, download site, reviews, related products and safety, Bing claims it delivers more relevant and safer software results from reliable sources.

As an example, Bing used a search for Audacity software to show how its entity pane includes a product description with the software’s official logo, cost information, trusted download links and product reviews:

Making sure not to leave its own product out of the loop, Bing also launched instant answers for Microsoft technology related queries.

Now searches for products like “Cortana” will deliver quick information at the top of Bing’s results page: