On the Q4 2022 earnings call, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai confirmed that Google has an AI chatbot system internally testing and will launch it for use with its search engine soon. The feature is a rival to ChatGPT, the popular text generator from Open AI LLC that has garnered massive interest from the public and analysts alike.
The AI tool has gained immense attention since it was launched in January, and many expect this could reshape the way we interact with technology. Some experts even predict that it may cause a major disruption in the market and potentially lead to Google’s downfall.
While Google is currently gatekeeping Bard for use with its search engines, it plans to release it for broader use in the “coming weeks,” according to a post from Pichai. Based on the company’s Language Model for Dialogue Applications (or LaMDA), Bard will be able to answer questions and respond to queries in a conversational manner, he says.
To make this work, Pichai said Bard will need to be able to learn from human feedback. He also plans to make the service available in a lighter version, reducing its power requirements to make it easier for people to use.
Pichai says that these new AI features will help people find answers in moments when the answer to their query isn’t clear. For example, if a user asks how to play guitar and there are several different opinions online, the AI will synthesize information to present the most complete answer possible.
These updates also allow Google to synthesize answers for complicated questions like whether learning guitar is easier or more difficult, he writes. These tools will use the company’s vast intelligence and knowledge base to give users a more accurate and well-rounded answer, he says.
A lot of these features will also be rolled out to other parts of the Google ecosystem, Pichai wrote, including on its video app, Maps, and in search. He also plans to open up the technology to more developers and partners in the coming weeks.
The company is also making changes to its APIs, allowing them to use more advanced algorithms. This will give more control to developers and let them better optimize their apps for Google.
Google has been focusing on search for some time, but with the rise of AI, it is going to have to step up its game and introduce new features that will help consumers find what they are looking for. This will allow it to gain more market share and stay ahead of its competitors in the long run, Pichai writes.
There are a number of companies in the field who are trying to compete with Google. Some of them have already launched their own AI tools and are catching up, while others are waiting to see how the competition pans out before they go all in.
One of these is Cohere, a Toronto-based AI startup that has been working on training large language models to help create a conversational AI. The company is now trying to raise new funding at a $6 billion valuation, reports Reuters.