Notebook

BingSearch using Kernel¶

This notebook explains how to integrate Bing Search with the Semantic Kernel to get the latest information from the internet.

To use Bing Search you simply need a Bing Search API key. You can get the API key by creating a Bing Search resource in Azure.

To learn more read the following documentation.

Prepare a Semantic Kernel instance first, loading also the AI backend settings defined in the Setup notebook:

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#r "nuget: Microsoft.SemanticKernel, 1.23.0"
#r "nuget: Microsoft.SemanticKernel.Plugins.Web, 1.23.0-alpha"
#r "nuget: Microsoft.SemanticKernel.Plugins.Core, 1.23.0-alpha"

#!import config/Settings.cs
#!import config/Utils.cs

using Microsoft.SemanticKernel;
using Microsoft.SemanticKernel.Plugins.Core;
using Microsoft.SemanticKernel.TemplateEngine;
using InteractiveKernel = Microsoft.DotNet.Interactive.Kernel;
using Kernel = Microsoft.SemanticKernel.Kernel;

var builder = Kernel.CreateBuilder();

// Configure AI backend used by the kernel
var (useAzureOpenAI, model, azureEndpoint, apiKey, orgId) = Settings.LoadFromFile();

if (useAzureOpenAI)
    builder.AddAzureOpenAIChatCompletion(model, azureEndpoint, apiKey);
else
    builder.AddOpenAIChatCompletion(model, apiKey, orgId);

var kernel = builder.Build();

Add the following namespaces to use the Bing Search connector.

In [ ]:

using Microsoft.SemanticKernel.Plugins.Web;
using Microsoft.SemanticKernel.Plugins.Web.Bing;

Enter your Bing Search Key in BING_KEY using InteractiveKernel method as introduced in .NET Interactive

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using InteractiveKernel = Microsoft.DotNet.Interactive.Kernel;

string BING_KEY = (await InteractiveKernel.GetPasswordAsync("Please enter your Bing Search Key")).GetClearTextPassword();

Below are some examples on how WebSearchEnginePlugin can be used in SK.

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private static async Task Example1Async(Microsoft.SemanticKernel.Kernel kernel)
{
        Console.WriteLine("Example 1");

        // Run 
        var question = "What is quantum tunnelling";
        var function = kernel.Plugins["bing"]["search"];
        var bingResult = await kernel.InvokeAsync(function, new() { ["query"] = question });

        Console.WriteLine(question);
        Console.WriteLine("----");
        Console.WriteLine(bingResult);
        Console.WriteLine();

        /* OUTPUT:

            What is quantum tunnelling
            ----
            In physics, quantum tunnelling, barrier penetration, or simply tunnelling is a quantum mechanical
            phenomenon in which an object such as an electron or atom passes through a potential energy 
            barrier that, according to classical mechanics, the object does not have sufficient energy to
            enter or surmount.
            
       */
}

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private static async Task Example2Async(Microsoft.SemanticKernel.Kernel kernel)
{
    Console.WriteLine("Example 2");

    //The following function only works in interactive notebooks
    string question = await InteractiveKernel.GetInputAsync("Please ask your question"); 

    var function = kernel.Plugins["bing"]["search"];
    var bingResult = await kernel.InvokeAsync(function, new() { ["query"] = question });

    Console.WriteLine(bingResult);
}

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#pragma warning disable SKEXP0050

// Load Bing plugin
var bingConnector = new BingConnector(BING_KEY);

kernel.ImportPluginFromObject(new WebSearchEnginePlugin(bingConnector), "bing");

await Example1Async(kernel);
await Example2Async(kernel);