Google has announced that it will introduce artificial intelligence (AI) to its core search engine.
The move comes after Microsoft integrated ChatGPT into its Bing search engine earlier this year.
Search Generative Experience – which will be part of Google – will create responses to open queries, the company said.
However, the system will only be available to a limited number of users and is still in the “experimental” phase.
“We’re rethinking all of our core products, including search,” said Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google’s parent company Alphabet.
Additionally, the company announced a new feature on Google’s Android system that will proactively alert users to unknown AirTags, tiny devices designed to track phones used to track people.
The tech giant said the “unknown tracker alerts” would go live this summer.
The announcement came after Apple and Google said last week that they were working together to address the issue.
Last year, two women sued Apple for AirTag stalking.
Women who have been tracked using the devices told the BBC last year that not enough was being done to prevent abuse.
- Apple AirTags – “A perfect tool for stalking”
Google made the announcement at its annual developer conference, where the company’s executives showcased their latest advances in artificial intelligence and new hardware offerings, including a $1,799 (£1,425) phone that opens like a book and close.
The company said it was removing the waitlist for “Bard,” its experimental, conversational chat service that’s rolling out in English in 180 countries and territories.
It also said that the chatbot will soon be able to respond to prompts with both images and text.
After the resounding success of rival chatbot ChatGPT, which is funded by Microsoft, Google is under pressure to improve its artificial intelligence offerings.
A previous attempt to demonstrate his credentials in the field ended in embarrassment in February after Bard was revealed to have answered a question incorrectly in an ad designed to showcase his skills.
The incident has knocked $100 billion (£82 billion) in the value of parent company Alphabet’s shares – a sign of investors’ close attention to the development of the tech giants’ AI projects.
Microsoft is deploying ChatGPT technology in its Bing search engine after investing heavily in the company that developed it, OpenAI. Chinese tech giant Baidu also has a chatbot called Ernie.
Gartner analyst Chirag Dekate said Google remains an industry leader and is well-positioned to capitalize on interest in AI.
“Google has the tools to dominate the AI battles. The constant question is: will they?” he said.
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