Google continues its progress, it is actively implementing AI chat capabilities into its primary search engine. This initiative aims to stay in step with a surge of emerging artificial intelligence tools that pose a potential challenge to the company's long-standing online dominance.

On Wednesday, the company announced the introduction of the latest advancement in Google Search, incorporating an AI-driven chatbot capable of addressing queries that were previously unthinkable for the search engine to answer. This chatbot will also assist users in obtaining information faster than ever before.

Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Google's parent company Alphabet, stated that they are envisioning a complete transformation of their core products, including search.

As part of this update, the visual appearance of Google Search results will undergo noticeable changes. When users enter a search term in the main search bar, they will now receive an automatic pop-up featuring an AI-generated response alongside the traditional search results.

Users now have the opportunity to join a waitlist for the new Google Search, initially launching in the United States. This can be done through the Google app or the Chrome desktop browser. The company has indicated that a limited number of users will gain access to the new search experience in the upcoming weeks.

These updates were unveiled at I/O, the annual developer event hosted by the company, which featured a combination of AI and hardware product announcements. During the event, Google introduced PaLM 2, its latest AI language model designed to compete with OpenAI's GPT-4, the creator of ChatGPT. This development represents a significant advancement in the technology supporting Google's AI products, promising enhanced capabilities in areas such as logic, common sense reasoning, mathematics, and even the generation of specialized code in various programming languages.

Amidst the viral success of ChatGPT, Google's competitors, such as Microsoft, are in a competitive race to create and implement AI functionalities in search engines and productivity tools. The widespread acclaim surrounding ChatGPT reportedly led Google's management to raise concerns, prompting them to declare a "code red" situation for their search business.

Alongside the search modifications, Google is broadening the availability of its existing chatbot, Bard, which operates independently from the search engine. Bard assists users in various tasks, such as outlining and drafting essays, planning a friend's baby shower, and suggesting meal ideas based on available ingredients in the fridge. Initially accessible to a limited number of early users in the US through a waitlist, Bard will soon be accessible to all users across 120 countries and in 40 languages.

Google is also introducing extensions for Bard within its own services like Gmail, Sheets, and Docs. This integration enables users to interact with the chatbot, ask questions, and collaborate within the applications they are utilizing.

Nevertheless, the incorporation of AI chatbots brings certain risks. Concerns have arisen regarding the tone and accuracy of these tools, with the latter being particularly important for Google, whose online search engine has long been a cornerstone of its business.

According to Chirag Dekate, an analyst at Gartner, Google continues to maintain its position as an industry leader and is in a favorable position to capitalize on the growing interest in AI.

Dekate expressed that Google possesses the necessary tools to emerge victorious in the AI landscape, but the lingering question remains: Will they seize the opportunity?

The search engine's journey spanning 25 years

Google's commitment to advancing AI is evident through these endeavors, despite the concerns surrounding the technology.

In March, Google faced criticism when a demo of Bard produced an inaccurate response to a question about a telescope. Consequently, Alphabet, Google's parent company, experienced a 7.7% drop in shares, resulting in a $100 billion decline in market value.

Similarly, Microsoft's AI chatbot was also subject to scrutiny due to errors encountered during a demonstration.

Similar to ChatGPT, both the new Google Search and Bard rely on extensive language models. These models undergo training using vast amounts of online data to generate engaging responses to user queries. However, it is important to note that these tools are also susceptible to providing incorrect answers or generating responses that may not be grounded in reality.

Previously, Google stated that Bard would offer a distinct and supplementary experience to Google Search. The company expressed intentions to incorporate large language models into search in a more comprehensive manner at a later stage while being mindful of the process.

According to Edwards, the journey of search has spanned 25 years and remains an ongoing challenge. He emphasized that the forthcoming phase, which will likely extend over decades, requires a bold approach combined with responsibility to ensure accuracy and effectiveness.