Google's rivalry with OpenAI heats up as it works on a new reasoning AI model

Google and OpenAI have been battling back and forth to claim the title of leader in the AI space. While OpenAI may have gotten a step ahead after releasing o1 (internally known as Strawberry), Google appears to be preparing to punch back with a model that can rival its competitor’s latest software.

If you’ve been keeping an eye on the AI industry, then you likely know about OpenAI’s o1 model. Announced in mid-September, this model’s claim to glory is its complex reasoning and problem-solving skills. With its ability to mimic human reasoning, it’s more adept at solving multi-step problems in fields like math and coding. According to a report from Bloomberg, Google is currently working on a model that can also perform human-like reasoning.

Sources close to the matter have told the outlet that multiple teams at Google have been making progress on an AI reasoning model as they search for the next big step in AI. It’s said that Google is using a technique it pioneered called chain-of-thought prompting to develop the software. For reference, chain-of-thought prompting is a technique where the AI takes a moment to consider a number of related prompts before responding to the user’s prompt with a summary of what appears to be the best response.

At the moment, we don’t know what Google plans to call this new model or when to expect the company to roll it out. We’ll just have to wait for more information to come our way.