Up to date with extra data from Google at 7:40pm ET on July 31.
What you must know
- An inside Google electronic mail detailed an enormous reorganization for the Google Assistant group, together with dozens of layoffs.
- Bard and Google Assistant might be deeply built-in collectively, giving new life to Google Assistant and doubtlessly making it higher.
- Bard is Google’s AI chatbot that is aimed toward competing with Microsoft’s Bing AI chatbot primarily based on ChatGPT.
For years, Google often improved its digital assistant — appropriately named Google Assistant — however the previous few years have grown a bit stagnant. Google is trying to change that with a brand new directive from Google’s personal VP, Peeyush Ranjan, and can start integrating generative AI into Assistant’s framework over the approaching months.
In some ways, this looks as if Google is able to make the product child we anticipated when it initially launched Google Bard a couple of months in the past in response to Microsoft’s fast enlargement of its “BingGPT” generative AI search engine. An inside electronic mail to Google staff that work on Google Assistant was seen by Axios, detailing all of the modifications taking place on the firm.
Foremost is a restructuring of the Assistant division — which has been round for almost a decade now — to create a group devoted to integrating conversational AI with its current Google Assistant infrastructure. The e-mail means that many current options will proceed to be out there alongside new AI-powered options, signaling the significance for Google Assistant to proceed to work as customers count on it whereas nonetheless providing new experiences.
A number of dozen roles are being eradicated, and the letter states that these staff have already been knowledgeable with a 60-day discover. A number of groups will see new management modifications, and the general focus of the Google Assistant group will start specializing in integrating Massive Language Mannequin (LLM) expertise like Bard makes use of.
The e-mail says the groups would wish to work with “velocity and focus” to make modifications as quickly as doable, which means we might very nicely see some main new characteristic bulletins for Assistant by the tip of this 12 months.
To be clear, Bard will not be going away and the 2 merchandise usually are not being mixed. Fairly, this up to date model of Google Assistant appears to be like to be utilizing a number of the expertise Google helped construct Bard with.
Greater than seemingly, which means Google Assistant will turn out to be much more conversational with customers than it has previously. That might embody extra advanced questions and solutions, in addition to deeper ties with current AI infrastructure at Google to make a product that feels extra futuristic than the present Assistant design.
A Google spokesperson had this to say:
“Lots of of hundreds of thousands of individuals use the Assistant each month and we’re dedicated to giving them high-quality experiences. We’re excited to discover how LLMs might help us supercharge Assistant and make it even higher.”
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