According to an article published by Bloomberg News, Microsoft has threatened to cut off access to its Internet search data, which it licenses to rival search engines, unless they stop using it as the basis for its own artificial intelligence (AI) chat products. This was reported by the Reuters agency, citing News.ro.

The company said at least two customers used its Bing search index — a real-time crawlable map of the Internet — to power its artificial intelligence chat tools in violation of its contract, the news agency reported, citing people familiar with the dispute.

Microsoft may also terminate the licenses that provide access to its search index, Bloomberg adds.

Microsoft did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The maker of the Windows operating system said in February it would upgrade its Bing search engine and Edge web browser with artificial intelligence, signaling its ambitions to regain leadership in consumer technology markets where it has fallen behind.

The updated Bing search engine was released to users late last month.