Key Takeaways
- Google plans to add conversational AI features to its Search product
- The move comes in response to Microsoft’s integration of OpenAI’s ChatGPT into Bing
- Google’s implementation could have a significant impact due to its dominant market share
- CEO Sundar Pichai sees AI chat as an opportunity to expand search business rather than a threat
- No specific timeline for chat AI search integration has been revealed
Google Steps Up Its Game with Conversational AI in Search
Google is preparing to bring conversational AI to its flagship Search product, according to CEO Sundar Pichai in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. This move follows Microsoft’s integration of OpenAI’s ChatGPT AI engine into its Bing search engine, prompting Google to enhance its search capabilities with large language models (LLMs).
The Race for AI-Enhanced Search Experience
The integration of conversational AI into Google Search is not surprising, given Microsoft’s recent foray into the space. With Google’s impressive 93.4% worldwide share of the search market, the company’s decision to add conversational features could significantly impact the landscape of traditional internet search. Pichai envisions AI chat as a means to expand Google’s search business rather than posing a threat, stating, “The opportunity space, if anything, is bigger than before.”
Catching Up with the Competition
Though Google has yet to provide a timeline for chat AI search integration, it is clear that the company currently lags behind Microsoft in this arena. OpenAI’s release of ChatGPT spurred Google to declare a “code red” as it perceived the AI as an existential threat to its core business. Microsoft’s integration of the GPT-4 model into Bing Search provided it with uncanny capabilities, further emphasizing Google’s need to catch up.
Google’s own conversational AI, Bard, was released as a standalone chat product, separate from Search. However, Bard has faced criticism for displaying incorrect answers in a Twitter ad, revealing that it lags behind ChatGPT. Pichai recently mentioned that Google would soon transition to a more “capable” language model in an effort to close the gap.
A More Collaborative Future for Google’s AI Divisions
As Google focuses on becoming 20% more productive by cutting jobs, the company is simultaneously accelerating work on new AI products. In a bid for greater efficiency, Google plans to foster increased collaboration between its two primary AI units, Google Brain and DeepMind. Pichai believes that stronger collaboration will be essential for more compute-intensive efforts, stating, “Expect a lot more, stronger collaboration, because some of these efforts will be more compute-intensive, so it makes sense to do it at a certain scale together.”
The Dawn of a New Era in Internet Search
Google’s move to integrate conversational AI into its Search product marks a significant shift in the way users will experience internet search. As the search giant works to catch up with its competitors, the integration of large language models will undoubtedly transform the landscape of online search and open up new opportunities for the company to expand its search business.
