Microsoft announced some new updates to Bing today at SES NY, where WebProNews covered the event live (during which a representative for Bing also let me know that live.webpronews.com would be a good place to check it out).

Will Bing's updates affect your search strategy? Discuss here.

Microsoft's Yusuf Mehdi, senior vice president, Online Audience Business, announced the updates during his keynote, which you can view here:

"The updates demonstrate Bing's continued mission to connect people with the knowledge they want on the web," a Bing rep tells me.  

So what are the updates?

There's an update to the Bing user interface, which adapts the page and search results based on the intent of the query. "We'll be testing a new user interface that includes new design concepts that move the Quick Tabs functionality to the top of the screen, so customers see a more  visual and organized page," the rep explains. "On the left side of the page, there will be query-specific options to help refine users’ questions and help Bing better understand user intent. This rolling update begins today and will become available to approximately 5% of customers."

A new search experience for autos will also be rolled out (and available to everybody in the coming weeks). It pulls together disconnected content from across the web for what Bing calls a "one-stop-shop."

In addition, there is a new Foursquare map app for Bing Maps, where customers can see Foursquare check-ins, badges, and mayorships in Bing Maps.

When asked about how businsses can monetize the new opportunties presented by Bing, Mehdi said they can provide different kind of ads and find out more about user intent. "Signals of data have helped us understand user intent," Mehdi said.

The flighting of most of the updates begins today and will be rolling out to all customers later this spring and summer.

What do you think of Bing's new updates? Share your thoughts here.