Google opens access to its chatbot to the privileged few: ready to be amazed?

The American giant seems to be gradually catching up with Microsoft, its main competitor in the race for conversational AI. At least the most popular search engine in the world seems to be having its last warm-up before officially acquiring new capabilities that are as impressive as they are frightening.

For now, ChatGPT remains the big champion in its field, putting Microsoft in pretty good shape to threaten, at least, Google in a sector it has dominated for many years. So, is the Mountain View firm showing that it is capable of defending itself?

Results boosted by artificial intelligence

Last week, the American giant announced that it was opening up access to new features on its search engine. And not just any, since it is a ” new AI-powered generative search experience “. As you might expect, Google’s goal is to offer an experience similar to that offered by Bing, Microsoft’s search engine, which can now be accompanied by ChatGPT. Like its counterpart, Bard will improve Google search results in a variety of ways. Among the many new possibilities, the company has chosen to highlight a few.

First of all, it will be possible to obtain an exhaustive overview of the subject sought. For example, during a query on a specific planet in the Solar System, Bard can generate a few short paragraphs about this star before letting the Internet user access the usual results to go directly to websites. But the work of the program does not stop there, it will also be possible to start a conversation with him, either in the form of suggested questions, or by writing them yourself, and always on the same subject.

Bard’s top tips

Artificial intelligence will also be able to respond to very specific problems. So, when filling out your tax return, all you have to do is ask Google how to do it, and it will be able to give you an answer specific enough for you to get started. You can then go to the relevant web pages to learn more, or launch the conversational mode to be further assisted by Bard.

Finally, it will be able to support product searches. In its announcement, the company gives as an example the request ” Bluetooth speaker for a pool party “. It will be enriched with a multitude of advice and important factors to take into consideration, such as water resistance, the power of the speaker or its autonomy. The program will then offer a list of matching products from, as you would expect, partner merchant sites.

Real potential or disaster in the making?

If Google is already able to respond to certain searches in the form of lists or summaries, the arrival of Bard promises more complete results. In addition, its conversational aspect has a real potential to simplify the life of Internet users… and become a real hell for content providers. Indeed, many of the sites you visit, and from which Bard derives its information, require to be visited to be profitable. Without this, a whole section of the Web economy could be threatened.

However, the core business of the American giant being advertising, we can expect that its search engine will encourage its users to consult the referenced pages. At least in the best of worlds. But conversational programs are still in their infancy on search engines, and it’s still unclear how much they will change the industry, and in what direction.

For now, the experience is only available to a handful of people who had already registered on a waiting list. They can now go to the Google application, on Android and iOS, then press the “Labs” icon to access what Google calls the “ Search Generative Experience “. Have a good trip…

Source : Google