Google has lagged behind Microsoft in the AI chatbot race. This forced the tech giant to rush to find a way to maintain its edge.
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The rush to introduce Bard is considered FOMO by Google. Photo: Reuters . |
Recently, Mr. Sundar Pichai – CEO of Alphabet, Google’s parent company – called on the entire company to participate in testing Bard – a chatbot that competes directly with ChatGPT. This internal notice was sent out shortly after Google announced the service.
Pichai said the model would allow Google to not only answer questions like how many keys a piano has. Users can also know if learning piano is easier than guitar or not.
According to Business Insider , everything sounds impressive. But unlike ChatGPT, which already has 100 million users, Bard is only for “trusted testers”.
Google is in a difficult position
Google is in a strange situation. OpenAI – the startup behind ChatGPT – has pushed the global tech world into an AI chatbot race. Like it or not, more and more tech companies are rushing to announce their own ChatGPT-like tool.
Not only Google, Chinese search engine Baidu will also launch Ernie Bot project – a chatbot similar to ChatGPT – in March. In the latest announcement, Baidu intends to integrate Ernie into its search service. In addition, new AI technology similar to Alibaba’s ChatGPT is being tested internally.
But right now, ChatGPT has announced a paid version, a business plan, and even integration with Microsoft’s Bing search engine. These moves could pose a direct threat to Google in the online search market.
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OpenAI – the startup behind ChatGPT – has pushed the global tech world into an AI chatbot race. Photo: Reuters. |
Now, Google must urgently find a way to maintain an edge in whatever technology can aid search, which is its core business.
The company also needs to reassure investors that Google remains the leader in the online search market, as it has been for decades.
“Bing still only accounts for about 9% of the search market, but integrating the ChatGPT engine and algorithm into the search platform could lead to a shift in market share away from Google,” said Dan Ives, an analyst at Wedbush. – comment.
“So the ‘FOMO Bard’ was announced,” Business Insider commented, pointing to Google’s fear of being left behind.
Google’s FOMO
The troubles don’t stop with Google. Alphabet stock price plunged 9% in trading on February 8 after Bard shared incorrect information in a promotional video posted on Twitter. In the opposite direction, Microsoft stock price increased by about 3%.
Bard’s flaws show the challenges that Google is facing in the fierce AI chatbot race. The case also wiped out the market capitalization of parent company Google by $ 140 billion .
This period becomes a defining moment for the AI market. Microsoft and OpenAI will bring users new experiences and completely change the way they operate online.
As for Google – the technology giant that considers AI “the biggest technology we are working on”, Bard will not be able to slow down.
After all, the founders of ChatGPT are former Googlers. And the “T” in GPT stands for “Transformers” – an AI technique invented by the search giant.
During the fourth quarter of 2022 shareholders meeting, Mr. Sundar Pichai said many AI-powered features will be included in popular Google products.
Business Insider noted that with “huge arsenal and in-house AI development experience”, Google is ready for the race. The US search giant also plans to bring super AI to Gmail and Google Docs.
According to Erik Hamilton, head of search at marketing firm Good Apple, Google’s tools – including Google Chrome – have a lot of loyal users. And AI tools will keep them instead of risking moving to Microsoft.
