Google announced today that it has integrated Gmail, YouTube, and other tools into its Bard chatbot. This move aims to demonstrate to users that AI is both helpful and safe, debunking any misconceptions that it is merely a passing trend.
For many years, Google has been quietly developing its AI capabilities. However, it was caught off guard when OpenAI released ChatGPT last year and joined forces with Microsoft to make the technology available worldwide.
In response, Google quickly launched its own chatbot, Bard, earlier this year. Bard is available in over 40 languages and has successfully addressed data privacy concerns raised by European regulators.
The enhanced chatbot now allows users to perform new tasks, such as summarizing lengthy email threads into key points or leveraging Google Maps to find the best routes to holiday destinations.
Google also introduced Bard Extensions, which enable users to extract important information from content across Google Docs and Google Drive, including PDF files.
To ensure accuracy, Google added a feature that compares Bard’s output to the results of a Google search query on the same topic. This helps identify any discrepancies or incorrect answers, addressing concerns about unreliable responses.
These new capabilities are similar to Microsoft’s AI-powered Office 365 applications. However, Microsoft’s offerings come at an additional cost and are not available through the Bing chatbot.
To address privacy concerns, Google emphasized that the new powers will only access personal data with the user’s permission. Any personal content retrieved from Google’s workplace tools will not be used for targeted ads, training Bard, or viewed by human reviewers.
In a blog post, Google stated, “You’re always in control of your privacy settings when deciding how you want to use these extensions, and you can turn them off at any time.”
As for the broader context, the long-term viability of generative AI chatbots remains uncertain, with usage of ChatGPT on a downward trend in recent months, according to industry data. Additionally, integrating the Bing chatbot into Microsoft’s search engine earlier this year had little impact on Google’s search dominance.
Despite this, governments and tech companies continue to invest heavily in generative AI, viewing it as a significant advancement in technology. These entities are actively funding new products, research, and infrastructure development in this field.