Google has announced that it is introducing generative artificial intelligence (AI) to its core search engine.
The new feature, called Search Generative Experience, will generate responses to open-ended queries.
Earlier this year, Microsoft integrated GPT-4 into its Bing search engine, and now this development follows. Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Google’s parent company Alphabet, said that the company is “reimagining all of our core products, including search”. The system is still in an experimental phase and will only be available to a limited number of users.
In addition to this, Google has also announced a new feature that will proactively warn Android users about unknown AirTags, small devices developed by Apple to track personal items like keys and wallets.
The availability of “unknown tracker alerts” is expected to be in the summer. Apple and Google announced that they were collaborating to resolve the problem, which led to this action. In the previous year, two women filed a lawsuit against Apple for AirTag stalking.
Google made the announcement at its annual developer conference, where it showcased its latest advancements in artificial intelligence and new hardware offerings. Additionally, it unveiled a phone priced at $1,799 (£1,425) that can be opened and closed like a book.
The company said it was removing the waitlist for its experimental, conversational chat service, Bard, which will be rolled out in English in 180 countries and territories. The chatbot will also be able to respond to prompts with images as well as text.
Google has been under pressure to improve its artificial intelligence offerings following the success of Microsoft’s chatbot ChatGPT. Google’s previous effort to showcase its competence in the domain had failed, as Bard provided an incorrect answer to a question. Following significant investment in OpenAI, Microsoft is integrating ChatGPT technology into its search engine, Bing. Another chatbot, named Ernie, is present in the arsenal of the Chinese tech behemoth, Baidu.
According to Chirag Dekate, an analyst at Gartner, Google remains an industry leader and is well positioned to benefit from the interest in AI. However, the question remains whether Google will dominate the AI battles.
