Vivaldi will pretend to be Microsoft Edge so you can use Bing Chat
A clever workaround lets you use Bing Chat within Vivaldi.
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What you need to know
Bing Chatis one of the hottest pieces of tech right now. The AI-powered chatbot uses OpenAI’s GPT-4 and Bing to provide answers to a variety of prompts and questions. Officially, it’s only possible to use Bing Chat through Microsoft Edge. That changed this week with the rollout of Vivaldi 6.1
While Microsoft has not officially added support for Vivaldi, or any non-Edge browser, the makers of Vivaldi have implemented a workaround. The browser will change its User-Agent strings to pretend to be Microsoft Edge, allowing people to use Bing Chat within Vivaldi.
Since Vivaldi is a Chromium-based browser, it uses the same underlying tech as Microsoft Edge and Google Chrome, but that doesn’t mean all websites play nicely with it.
User-Agent strings tell a website which browser and operating system a user is on. These can be used to ensure compatibility, but they can also be used to block access to websites. For example, some websites only work with Google Chrome. Drivers can also be optimized for specific browsers.
When Vivaldi masquerades as another browser, it can take advantage of optimizations and allow users to access any site that works on another browser within Vivaldi.
With Vivaldi pretending to be Edge, both the desktop and Android versions of Vivaldi can access Bing Chat.
Vivaldi will not have to pretend to be Edge forever. Microsoft’s Mikhail Parakhin confirmed that support forBing Chat will roll out to other browsersgradually. But until that happens, Vivaldi’s User-Agent string workaround will provide another way to access Bing Chat.
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As a quick reminder, it’s also possible touse Bing Chat on any browseryou’d like with an extension.
Vivaldi | Free
This browser has several privacy-focused features and does not track your data the same as many other browsers. It can also pretend to be other browsers to ensure compatibility. For example, Vivaldi can now access Bing Chat by masquerading as Edge.
Microsoft Store|Vivaldi
Sean Endicott is a tech journalist at Windows Central, specializing in Windows, Microsoft software, AI, and PCs. He’s covered major launches, from Windows 10 and 11 to the rise of AI tools like ChatGPT. Sean’s journey began with the Lumia 740, leading to strong ties with app developers. Outside writing, he coaches American football, utilizing Microsoft services to manage his team. He studied broadcast journalism at Nottingham Trent University and is active on X @SeanEndicott_ and Threads @sean_endicott_.
