Google plans to integrate generative AI into virtual assistant for enhanced task assistance

livemint.com:

Made By Google event in New York, the American tech giant has announced its plan to incorporate generative AI features from its Bard chatbot into Google's own virtual assistant. This integration aims to offer personalized assistance with reasoning and generative functions on mobile devices. "(A) whole task is done through a couple of simple questions that you're asking your assistant, which is, we think, a very, very powerful concept," Sissie Hsiao vice president, Google assistant and Bard, told the news agency.

Reportedly, Google, along with various other tech companies, has been in a competitive race to integrate generative AI into their new or existing products. Companies like Meta Platforms, Amazon.com, and Microsoft have also intensified their efforts in this regard this year. The upcoming version of the Google's assistant will be equipped with access to a mobile phone's camera and microphone, enabling users to input images or audio to assist in answering queries, as explained by Hsiao.

Notably, it will not incorporate revenue-generating functionalities, as Google is currently in the "learning phase" with generative AI. "We want to learn how to make a great experience out of this," added the Google vice president. Google has mentioned that the new software will be accessible to its trusted tester program in the near future, although a specific general release date has not been disclosed.