Sundar Pichai: Google to add conversational AI to its search engine

Google plans to integrate conversational AI features into its search engine. This was announced by chief executive Sundar Pichai in an interview The Wall Street Journal.

“Can users ask Google questions and interact with large language models in the context of search? Of course,” he said.

In March, the company said it would integrate the LLM into the search engine, but for the first time shared plans to implement conversational AI features.

According to Pichai, advances in AI will enhance Google’s ability to answer a broad set of user queries.

This move is not unexpected, especially after Microsoft introduced ‘new Bing’ based on ChatGPT. However the introduction of chat could give Google more influence due to owning 93.4% of the search market.

Pichai added that he sees the AI chat as a way to expand Google’s flagship product, not a threat.

“In any case, the space of possibilities is greater than before,” he noted.

The head of Google did not disclose details or approximate timelines for adding an AI chat to the search engine.

In February Google introduced the conversational AI Bard.

A day later, users noticed the chatbot’s errors in the promotional video. As a result, the parent Alphabet lost $100 billion in market value.

In March Google opened limited access to Bard.