A short conversation with ChatGPT or Google Bard is enough to make Alexa, Google Assistant, and Siri sound like dullards, and now Google is said to be pouring its efforts into giving its Assistant a much-needed AI revamp.
In an internal e-mail obtained by Axios, two top Google execs described the “huge opportunity” presented by a “supercharged” Google Assistant that is “powered by the latest LLM technology” (LLM being an acronym for large language model).
The memo, sent by Google VP Peeyush Ranjan and director of product Duke Dukellis, noted that “a portion” of the Google Assistant team “beginning with mobile” is “already working” on the AI effort, and it also detailed a number of organization changes, including some layoffs.
The e-mail wraps up with the promise that “we remain deeply committed to Assistant and we are optimistic about its bright future ahead.”
The Axios report follows an eyebrow-raising Google I/O back in May that saw company executives singing the praises of Google Bard, while Google Assistant went virtually unmentioned.
Indeed, while Google unveiled a new Pixel Tablet with a dock that allows the device to act as a smart home display, the Assistant remained little more than an afterthought during the presentation.
In any event, the internal Google e-mail Axios published confirms what most of us have long suspected: If Google Assistant has a future, it will be intertwined with the AI- and LLM-powered Google Bard.
Google’s biggest competitors in the voice assistant space are already thinking the same way, with Amazon making plain its ambitions to bolster Alexa with the company’s own large-language models.
Apple is also said to be revving up its own AI chatbot technology that could eventually power Siri, although those efforts have reportedly been hampered by behind-the-scenes strife on the Siri team.
So, when might we finally see a Google Assistant imbued with the AI chatbot abilities of Google Bard? My money is on Google I/O 2024, but at the current pace of AI development, we might not have to wait that long.
Author: Ben Patterson, Senior Writer
Ben has been writing about technology and consumer electronics for more than 20 years. A PCWorld contributor since 2014, Ben joined TechHive in 2019, where he covers smart speakers, soundbars, and other smart and home-theater devices. You can follow Ben on Twitter.