Welcome to the forefront of conversational AI as we explore the fascinating world of AI chatbots in our dedicated blog series. Discover the latest advancements, applications, and strategies that propel the evolution of chatbot technology. From enhancing customer interactions to streamlining business processes, these articles delve into the innovative ways artificial intelligence is shaping the landscape of automated conversational agents. Whether you’re a business owner, developer, or simply intrigued by the future of interactive technology, join us on this journey to unravel the transformative power and endless possibilities of AI chatbots.
OpenAI launched its chatbot ChatGPT in 2022, initiating a new AI era. This left behind tech giants such as Google, which had been working on artificial intelligence technologies for years. What was Google’s reaction to OpenAI releasing ChatGPT ahead of its chatbot Gemini?
CEO of Google and its parent company, Alphabet, Sundar Pichai, recently shared his reaction to the release of ChatGPT at Dreamforce, Salesforce’s annual technology event, on Thursday.
“But you’re right, credit to OpenAI, they put it out first,” a report by Business Insider quoted Pichai.
Pichai’s remarks came when Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff questioned about Google’s reaction, which he called the “absolute leader in AI” at the time, when “this little company in San Francisco called OpenAI emerges with this product ChatGPT.”
The Google CEO mentioned that the company had already made enough progress on AI products, including an internal version of a chatbot.
Pichai further compared the time of ChatGPT’s launch to others he had observed in the consumer internet sector. For example, when Google was developing video search in 2006, YouTube “came out of nowhere,” Facebook was getting popular with photos in its feed, and then Instagram surfaced, the report said. Notably, Google bought YouTube, and Facebook purchased Instagram later.
“We knew in a different world, we would’ve probably launched our chatbot maybe a few months down the line,” Pichai said. “We hadn’t quite gotten it to a level where you could put it out and people would’ve been OK with Google putting out that product. It still had a lot of issues at that time,” he added.
Pichai said Google had already extensively invested in AI, including its research teams and producing its own chips and infrastructure, and that it was well-positioned when ChatGPT was released.
However, after ChatGPT’s launch, Pichai said Google would not immediately release a chatbot competitor because it posed greater “reputational risk” than OpenAI.
When OpenAI launched ChatGPT in late 2022, it was backed by Microsoft, a competitor of Google, and was considered a major challenge to Google in the artificial intelligence sector. Meanwhile, Google management issued a “code red,” and the CEO redirected several teams to focus on AI, the New York Times reported.
Google released its chatbot, which was initially named and later renamed to Gemini, in March 2023.
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