The Bing Application Programming Interface (API) Version 2 enables developers to build applications that can:
- Retrieve information from the Internet
- Monetize your application with advertisements
- Improve and enhance search requests and results
- Find location-specific information
- Translate terms and blocks of text
Each of these capabilities is associated with one or more Bing API SourceTypes. A SourceType is a source of information accessible to the API. Table 1 specifies these associations.
Table 1. Bing API Version 2 SourceTypes and Functionality
| SourceType |
Functionality |
|
Web
Image
MobileWeb
News
InstantAnswer
Video
|
Retrieve information from the Internet
|
|
Ad
|
Monetize your application with advertisements
|
|
RelatedSearch
Spell
|
Improve and enhance search requests and results
|
|
Phonebook
|
Find location-specific information
|
|
Translation
|
Translate terms and blocks of text from one language to another
|
.gif) Note |
| The Bing API includes more SourceTypes capable of providing additional content and functionality. Access is reserved for users having an explicit contract with Microsoft. For more information, please contact mailto:api_tou@microsoft.com. |
Retrieve Information
You can use the Bing API to retrieve the following types of content:
- Web pages
- Images
- News stories from a wide variety of source
- Instant Answers from the MSN Encarta Online Encyclopedia
Monetize your Application with Ads
Now you can get access to the Bing API with the added ability to build revenue from your site. Ads are currently available as a pilot program, and only for U.S.-based publishers. To find out more about applying for ads, see monetizing your search application.
Improve and Enhance Search Requests and Results
The Bing API can change or supplement your search request in the following ways:
- Suggest spelling corrections for misspelled words in search terms
- Suggest queries that are likely to provide information relevant to the original query
Find Location-Specific Information
Location-specific capabilities of the API include the ability to:
- Return phonebook listings on the basis of the latitude, longitude, and radius of the search
- Sort phonebook results by distance (the default) or relevance
Translate Terms and Blocks of text
Use the Translation SourceType to translate terms and blocks of text from one language to another.