Google To Integrate Conversational AI Into the Search Bar
Google’s flagship search engine is taking a step towards looking increasingly similar to ChatGPT. CEO Sundar Pichai has revealed that users utilizing search will eventually be able to engage with LLMs (large language models) — meaning AI programs — through the engine, speaking to The Wall Street Journal.
“Will people be able to ask questions to Google and engage with LLMs [large language models] in the context of search? Absolutely,” Pichai said.
“The opportunity space, if anything, is bigger than before,” he added.
The CEO didn’t share whether or not the LLMs would be optional when it comes to user interaction, such as the individual having the option to turn off any models within the search engine, or if LLMs be rolled out across the board.
The move follows Google’s launch of its own AI chatbot, Bard, which would likely act as the basis for any conversational AI integrated into the search engine. Bard is billed as Google’s prototypal AI and will be replaced by “newer, more capable models” over time.
“Bard is a direct interface to an LLM, and we think of it as a complementary experience to Google Search,” Google said in its announcement of Bard’s launch last month. “Bard is designed so that you can easily visit Search to check its responses or explore sources across the web.”
Even then, the company subtly said it would be “thoughtfully integrating” Bard into the search engine eventually, though there doesn’t seem to be an exact timeline for when that’ll happen.
