After Microsoft, Google plans to integrate artificial intelligence-based functions into its search engine. About it writes The Wall Street Journal citing Google CEO Sundar Pichai.
Image source: geralt/pixabay.com
Speaking to reporters, Mr. Pichai stressed that advances in AI will improve Google’s ability to respond to multiple queries. He dismissed the notion that chatbots pose a threat to Google’s search business, which accounts for more than half of Alphabet’s parent company’s revenue. “The space of possibilities is rather larger than before”says Sundar Pichai, who also runs Alphabet.
Google has long been a leader in developing Large Language Models (LLMs) on which advanced chatbots are built, such as Google’s Bard or Open AI’s ChatGPT. At the same time, the IT giant is in no hurry to integrate AI technologies into its products, but that could change soon. “Will people be able to ask Google questions and interact with the LLM as part of a search? no doubt”– said Mr. Pichai during a conversation with reporters.
Since Microsoft has already integrated a neural network-based chatbot into its search engine Bing and this has led to an explosion in popularity, Google has faced one of the biggest threats to its core business in recent years. Additionally, the company is feeling increasing pressure from investors to cut costs due to rising inflation. Alphabet announced earlier this year that it was laying off 12,000 employees, about 6% of the company’s total workforce. According to Pichai, Google has yet to meet the goal it set in September of last year to become 20% more productive. He said the company was happy with the pace of change but declined to discuss the possibility of further staff cuts.
In general, Mr. Pichai’s interview makes it clear that Google is planning to integrate an AI bot into its search engine, similar to what Bing is already using. This move is expected to overturn the traditional approach to user interaction with the search engine, which hasn’t undergone major changes in more than 20 years. According to the Google boss, several new products are currently being tested, for example the possibility of communicating with a search engine bot in the form of a chat. Google announced its intention last month “Integrate LLM thoughtfully into the search”but hasn’t announced any plans for new features or when they’ll be released.
In March of this year, Google opened up public access to its Bard chatbot via waitlist registration. At the same time, the developers did not integrate the algorithm into the search engine, offering users to interact with it through a separate web resource. Bard is currently being tested, after which this algorithm may become available in the Google search engine.
Add Comment