Google launched Bard earlier this year and soon announced that it will integrate AI chatbot capabilities into its popular services like Gmail, Docs, Sheets and more. Recently, Sundar Pichai, chief executive officer of Google parent company Alphabet, hinted that the company plans to integrate conversational AI features into its flagship search product.
“Will people be able to ask questions of Google and have conversations with LLMs in the context of search? Absolutely,” Pichai told the Wall Street Journal (WSJ). According to the report, the company’s top executive dismissed the view that chatbots pose a threat to Google’s search business, saying they offer a greater opportunity. “The space of opportunity, if anything, is bigger than it was before,” Pichai said.
That could mean users can interact directly with the company’s AI chatbot – just as they do with Microsoft’s Bing Chat in the Edge browser.
Google’s cautious approach
Given the concerns expressed by researchers about the accuracy of AI-driven chatbots, Google is taking a fairly cautious approach to providing AI-driven services to users.
In one of the earlier interviews in a podcast, Pichai stressed that the company has more powerful [voice] models and will upgrade Bard, but that it is important” for Google to “get it right” He said Google wants to be careful with Bard and build trust and a layer of security.
In the limited preview, Google allowed users to chat with Bard and offered a virtual button that allowed users to check information on Google.
“It’s been incredible to see the enthusiasm of users for adopting these technologies, and some of it is a pleasant surprise,” Pichai said.
He said Google did not release a chatbot earlier because the company is still trying to find the right market. “We were about to launch something, and maybe the timing changed given the current situation in the industry,” he said.
Pichai said Google has more powerful language models and will continue to improve Bard with new AI models.
