Google plays it safe with initial Bard rollout

Google has begun rolling out early access to its Bard chatbot in the US and UK.

The ChatGPT rival was announced via a blog post in February, seemingly to get ahead of Microsoft’s own big reveal event the next day.

Microsoft’s plans to integrate a new version of ChatGPT into its Bing search engine set off alarm bells at Google. In response, Google CEO Sundar Pichai invited the company’s founders – Larry Page and Sergey Brin – to return for a series of meetings...

21 March 2023 | Applications

Meta calls up generative AI squad as Snap releases ChatGPT-powered bot

Generative AI is firmly in the sights of social media. Meta is forming a new product group around generative AI to focus on ‘building delightful experiences’ into all of the company’s products, while Snap has unveiled a new chatbot running on OpenAI’s GPT technology.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg confirmed the seat-shuffling in a Facebook post, stating that teams currently working on generative AI will be pulled together. Detail was light on the scale of projects, but Zuckerberg...

28 February 2023 | Applications

Apple shies from the spotlight with staff-only AI summit

Apple seems happy to stay out of the spotlight when it comes to the “AI race” going by its latest summit.

Microsoft, Google, Baidu, and others have all raced to make very public AI announcements over the past month. Apple held its own AI event earlier this month but it was a staff-only affair.

Apple’s low-key AI event was notable as being the first to be held in-person at the Steve Jobs Theatre since the pandemic began. Other than that, it wasn’t particularly...

20 February 2023 | Apple

Microsoft’s AI chatbot is ‘unhinged’ and wants to be human

Early testers of Microsoft’s new AI chatbot have complained of receiving numerous “unhinged” messages.

Most of the attention has been around Google’s rival, Bard, embarrassingly giving false information in promo material. That error, and Bard’s shambolic announcement, caused investors to panic and wiped $120 billion from the company’s value.

However, unlike Microsoft, Google is yet to release its chatbot for public testing. Many have complained that it...

16 February 2023 | Applications

Googlers slam CEO and call Bard reveal ‘botched’

Google employees have slammed CEO Sundar Pichai and called the Bard chatbot reveal ‘botched’.

Microsoft’s alternative, ChatGPT, set off alarm bells at Google. In response, Pichai invited Google founders – Larry Page and Sergey Brin – to return for a series of meetings to review the company’s AI strategy.

Following those meetings, it was clear that Google intended to get its AI products to market faster. The company allegedly decided to speed up its AI review...

13 February 2023 | Applications

Google unveils AI enhancements to Search and Maps

Google used an event in Paris to unveil some of the latest AI advancements to its Search and Maps products.

The last-minute event was largely seen as a response to Microsoft’s integration of OpenAI’s models into its products. Just yesterday, Microsoft held an even more impromptu event where it announced that a new version of OpenAI’s ChatGPT chatbot – based on GPT-4 – will be integrated into the Edge browser and Bing search engine.

Google was expected to make a...

8 February 2023 | Applications

Google will leapfrog rivals with AI event next week

Google is holding an AI event next week to make some announcements ahead of rivals.

The web giant says the event will provide an update on how Google is “using the power of AI to reimagine how people search for, explore, and interact with information, making it more natural and intuitive than ever before to find what you need.”

OpenAI reportedly set off alarm bells at Google with ChatGPT. At the invite of Google CEO Sundar Pichai, the company’s founders – Larry...

3 February 2023 | Applications

Baidu to launch powerful ChatGPT rival

Chinese web giant Baidu is preparing to launch a powerful ChatGPT rival in March.

Baidu is often called the “Google of China” because it offers similar services, including search, maps, email, ads, cloud storage, and more. Baidu, like Google, also invests heavily in AI and machine learning.

Earlier this month, AI News reported that Google was changing its AI review processes to speed up the release of new solutions. One of the first products to be released under...

30 January 2023 | Applications

Zoom enters the conversational AI arena 

Zoom is getting into the conversational AI arena with the launch of Zoom Virtual Agent.

The chatbot solution aims to improve how businesses assist their customers and employees by delivering fast and highly-personalised responses.

“Every leader I speak to is seeking dual outcomes from their CX technology: superior omnichannel resolutions for their customers and an improved bottom line,” said Mahesh Ram, Head of Digital Customer Experience at...

27 January 2023 | Applications

Google to speed up AI releases in response to ChatGPT

Google is reportedly set to speed up its release of AI solutions in response to the launch of ChatGPT.

The New York Times claims ChatGPT set off alarm bells at Google. At the invite of Google CEO Sundar Pichai, the company’s founders – Larry Page and Sergey Brin – returned for a series of meetings to review Google’s AI product strategy.

Google is one of the biggest investors in AI and has some of the most talented minds in the industry. As a result, the company...

20 January 2023 | Applications