Alphabet's Google showcased an updated version of its core search product on Wednesday, with a focus on embedding more artificial intelligence (AI) in its answers. The move is aimed at quelling doubts that the company is losing ground to Microsoft's OpenAI-powered Bing search.
The new and improved Google Search dubbed the Search Generative Experience, will detect when generative AI can be used to answer a query and present the AI-generated response at the top of the search results page. This will be followed by the traditional links to the web.
For instance, a search for "weather San Francisco" will show the traditional eight-day forecast, while a query asking what outfit to wear in the California city will generate a lengthy response from AI, complete with links to websites that provided the information. The update also includes a "conversational mode" that remembers the user's prior questions, making it easier for them to ask follow-up queries. However, this mode is not designed to have a chatbot personality, and its responses will not include personal pronouns.
In contrast, Google's chatbot, Bard, has a persona that can hold human-like conversations. It is intended for creative collaboration, such as generating software code or writing captions for photos. Bard competes with OpenAI's ChatGPT, which has generated a lot of excitement among users for its human-like responses. Google has emphasized that traditional Google search should still be used for finding and seeking information, such as locating something to purchase.
The Search Generative Experience is currently available only to consumers in the US via a waitlist. Google plans to monitor the quality, speed, and cost of search results during a trial phase before making it widely available. There is no word on its availability in India yet. Meanwhile, Bard is available without a waitlist in 180 countries and territories and will soon support 40 languages.
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