Google is testing new AI-powered chat products that could influence future public product launches. They include a new chatbot and a potential way to integrate it into the search engine.
The company is working on a project under its cloud division called "Atlas," a "code red" project in response to ChatGPT, the big-language chatbot that went viral when it went public late last year.
Google is also testing a chatbot called "Apprentice Bard," where employees can ask questions and get detailed answers similar to ChatGPT. Another product division has been testing a new search desktop design that can be used in a question-and-answer format.
In recent weeks, leaders have been soliciting feedback from more employees on these efforts. CNBC reviewed internal documents and spoke to sources about work in progress.
The product testing follows a recent all-hands meeting where employees raised concerns about the company's competitive advantage in AI, given the sudden popularity of ChatGPT, which was launched by OpenAI, a San Francisco-based startup. Backed by Microsoft.
Google's AI chief Jeff Dean told employees at the time that the company had a greater "reputational risk" of misinformation and was therefore "more conservative than smaller startups." However, he and Pichai teased at the time that Google could launch something similar to the public sometime this year. Google, whose main business is web search, has long billed itself as a pioneer in artificial intelligence.
One of the test products is a chatbot called Apprentice Bard that uses Google's conversational technology LaMDA, or Language Models for Conversational Applications.
“Because of ChatGPT, the LaMDA team was asked to prioritize responses to ChatGPT,” read an internal memo reviewed by CNBC. "In the short term, it takes precedence over other projects," the email continued, warning that some employees stopped attending certain unrelated meetings.
Apprentice Bard looks similar to ChatGPT: Employees can enter questions into a dialog box and get text answers, then feed back on the responses. According to several responses reviewed by CNBC, Apprentice Bard's responses could include recent events, a feature ChatGPT does not yet have.
Apprentice Bard replaces Meena, an earlier version of an intelligent chatbot that was launched internally but has since been discontinued. Staff have noticed that Apprentice Bard's responses have become more progressive in recent weeks.
In one instance circulating internally, a tester asked Bud, an apprentice, if Google was going to have another round of layoffs. Earlier this month, the company laid off 12,000 workers, or 6% of its workforce.
"Based on my database access, another round of layoffs at Google in 2023 is unlikely," the response read. "The layoffs are usually to reduce costs and structure, but the company's financial situation is sound. In fact, Google's revenue increased by 34% in 2021, and the company's stock price has risen by 70% since January 2022."
