NYT: Google is working on ‘completely new’ AI search engine
Google is currently working on a ‘completely new’ AI search engine. The New York Times reports this based on internal communication from the company. The company would soon add a number of first AI features to its existing search engine.
Google would do this in response to Samsung, claims The New York Times. That company is said to be considering replacing Google Search with Microsoft Bing as the default search engine on its devices. It is not known whether Microsoft’s AI features in Bing are the main reason that Samsung would consider that move. However, that is the assumption within Google, the newspaper writes based on internal communication from the company.
The contract between Google and Samsung is currently still being negotiated and no concrete decision has been made yet, the NYT says. A Google spokesperson told the newspaper that the company is “continually improving its search engine” and that “Android phone makers are free to embrace technologies from other companies.” Samsung and Microsoft did not respond.
In response to Samsung’s considerations, Google plans to expand its work with AI, the NYT says. Google is said to be working on a “completely new” AI search engine, although those plans are in the early stages. There is no clear timetable for its release. The new search engine would gradually ‘learn what users want to know’. The search engine could also offer lists of pre-selected options for products to purchase and information to research.
In the shorter term, the tech giant would expand its existing search engine with AI functions, as part of ‘project Magi’. Google already offers AI features through its experimental chatbot Bard, but that is separate from its search engine. Google is said to have deployed 160 employees for this. This project would, among other things, retain advertisements in search results; This is not the case with Google’s experimental AI chatbot Bard. For example, Magi could help users write code.
According to the newspaper, the company recently asked employees to test the functions of Magi. Google is expected to release the new features to up to one million users next month, exclusively in the United States. CEO Sundar Pichai recently said the company would add AI to Search, but did not say when that would happen or share any concrete information or release window.
Google also has several other AI functions in development, the newspaper claims. The company is said to be working on a feature that generates images in Google Images search results. A Searchalong feature lets users ask questions to a chatbot while using Chrome. For example, users could ask the chatbot about activities near a vacation rental, and the AI would scan the Airbnb page and the internet for an answer, for example.
A spokesperson for the tech giant told The New York Times that “not every brainstorming deck or product idea leads to a release,” but that the company is excited about bringing new AI-powered features to its search engine. The company says it will share more details “soon.”
Bard, Google’s existing AI chatbot