Google wants to incorporate AI into its services, and this sentiment was echoed at its annual developer conference.
The search giant has already announced AI-based tools for Google Photos and Maps, and now it seems Google Assistant is also getting “supercharged” with Generative AI.
In an internal email brought to light by Axios, Google announced that it’s giving Assistant a new makeover with the latest LLM (Large Language Model) technology.
Google VP Peeyush Ranjan and Director of Product Duke Dukellis wrote in an email:
We"ve also seen the profound potential of generative AI to transform people"s lives and see a huge opportunity to explore what a supercharged Assistant, powered by the latest LLM technology, would look like.
As per the email, Google is reorganizing its Assistant division to create a team focused on integrating conversational AI with its existing Google Assistant infrastructure.
In fact, a small portion of the team has already begun working on updating the virtual assistant with LLM technology. However, the new development may also result in a number of layoffs and leadership changes.
Axios reports that dozens of jobs out of the thousands of employees who work on the Assistant are being cut. The letter states that these employees have already been given 60 days" notice.
The email also says the teams need to work with "speed and focus" to make changes as soon as possible. This means we may not have to wait too long to try the new "Supercharged" Assistant.
The features are still unknown, but the integration of generative AI could make the Google Assistant much more conversational, similar to Bard.
Speaking of Bard, Google"s assitant has seen improvements lately with the chatbot now being able to pull images from search results and perform better at math. Google may even be working on bringing extension support to the chatbot.