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Panicked Google to unveil over 20 AI products, including a Pixel wallpaper maker
- The threat AI products, like ChatGPT, has prompted Google to jumpstart development on AI products.
- Google is reported to have over 20 AI products it plans to unveil this year.
- Some of the products will be for developers and others for consumers
When ChatGPT started gaining popularity, reports came out that Google saw the product as a major threat to its business. In response to this threat, it seems Google is ramping up its AI development and could have over 20 AI projects ready to be unveiled this year.
According to a report from The New York Times, Larry Page and Sergey Brin — the founders of Google — have conducted several meetings with company executives about ChatGPT and the danger it poses to its Search business. This is a notable development given the two have mostly taken a hands-off approach with the company since 2019, allowing CEO Sundar Pichai to take the reins.
The concern Google’s executives feel at the moment has led to Pichai declaring a “code red,” pulling teams off of existing projects and having them work on building AI products instead.
“This is a moment of significant vulnerability for Google,” said former Google research director, D. Sivakumar. “ChatGPT has put a stake in the ground, saying, ‘Here’s what a compelling new search experience could look like.'”
Since hitting the alarm, it now looks like Google intends to unveil over 20 new AI products, as well as show off a version of its search engine with chatbot features, this year, according to The New York Times. The company also reportedly plans on unveiling some of the products at its May I/O 2023 event.
The products Google is currently working on are said to be for developers and consumers. One of these products is a tool to make it easier to build apps for Android phones, called Colab Plus Android Studio. Another product is said to be a wallpaper maker for Pixel phones. The New York Times also mentions a tool that summarizes videos by generating a new one.
Based on the report, Pichai is even trying to accelerate product approval reviews by finding a way to allow teams to conduct their own reviews. To this end, the company has created what’s called the “Green Lane” initiative to push employees who “try to ensure that technology is fair and ethical” to approve AI projects more quickly.
As the saying goes, desperate times call for desperate measures, and right now Google sounds like a company that has reached that state.