Google Rushes to Develop AI-Enabled Search Features to Stay Ahead of Competitors

Google is facing tough competition from new artificial intelligence (AI)-powered search engines and is now racing to develop its own AI-enabled search engine to protect its core business. According to reports, Google is also working on a slew of projects to upgrade its existing search engine with new AI features, in addition to building an all-new search engine from scratch.

The South Korean electronics giant, Samsung, is reportedly considering replacing Google with Microsoft's Bing as the default search engine on its devices, thereby putting an estimated $3 billion in annual revenue at risk. Another $20 billion is tied to a similar Apple contract that will be up for renewal this year.

Google's reaction to the Samsung threat was "panic," according to internal messages reviewed by The New York Times. The company's employees were shocked at the possibility of losing its default search engine status on hundreds of millions of Samsung smartphones that use Google's Android software every year.

The rise of AI-powered competitors, like Microsoft's Bing and OpenAI's ChatGPT, has posed a significant threat to Google's search business. In response, Google has launched an all-out sprint to develop new AI-enabled search features and build a new search engine entirely powered by AI. According to internal documents reviewed by The Times, the new search engine would offer users a far more personalized experience, attempting to anticipate users' needs.

Google has been working on AI research for years, with its DeepMind lab in London considered one of the best AI research centers in the world. However, the company has been cautious about adopting AI-powered search engines, as it has been prone to generating false and biased statements.

Plans for the new search engine, which demonstrate Google's ambition to reimagine the search experience, are still in the early stages, with no clear timeline on when it will release the new search technology. However, the Magi project, which involves upgrading the existing search engine with new AI features, is already underway. The new features, which are being created by designers, engineers, and executives working in so-called sprint rooms, will be released to a maximum of one million people initially, with that number increasing progressively to 30 million by the end of the year. The features will be available exclusively in the United States.

The search giant is also exploring several other projects, such as a tool called GIFI, which would use AI to generate images in Google Image results. Tivoli Tutor is another project that would teach users a new language through open-ended AI text conversations. Google has also looked into using AI to let people use Google Earth's mapping technology and search for music through a conversation with a chatbot.

Jim Lecinski, a former Google vice president of sales and service, said that the company had been goaded into action and now had to convince users that it was as "powerful, competent, and contemporary" as its competitors.

Writing credit: Nico Grant

Nico Grant, based in San Francisco, writes about Google and the technology industry.

April 16, 2023