Background information

Of Google’s chatbot fail, falling share prices and new AI features

9.2.2023

Translation: Veronica Bielawski

In a tweet, Google teased its new AI chatbot, Bard. But Reuters discovered an incorrect answer in the preview. This came to light practically at the same time as new AI features for Search, Maps and Lens were unveiled, causing Google’s share price to crash.

This could have been a big week for Google. The chatbot Bard offers a prospective answer to OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Google is further doubling down with new AI features for Google Lens, Maps and its other services. But then the search giant tripped itself up. What’s more, Microsoft has really cooked Google’s goose with its own chatbot.

So, what exactly happened?

On 6 February, Google provided a first preview of Bard, an AI chatbot based on laMDA. In a tweet, Google showed a question that had been asked to Bard along with the chatbot’s answer. The question was: «what new discoveries from the James Webb Space Telescope can I tell my 9 year old about?»

As luck would have it, one of the possible discoveries listed by Bard is incorrect:

Bard claims that the James Webb Space Telescope captured the very first images of a planet outside of our solar system. This is false, as the news agency Reuters pointed out on Wednesday. In fact, it was the European Very Large Telescope that in 2004 captured the very first exoplanet.

In the early afternoon of 8 February, skies still seemed sunny enough for Google. Its livestream on the new AI features started promptly at 2:30 p.m., broadcast from Paris. But during the YouTube stream, it became apparent that not everything was going according to plan for Google; there was no mention of the hotly anticipated chatbot that had just been announced on Monday. The starting shot for the ChatGPT alternative failed to materialise, and that right after Microsoft had made its own big announcement in a press conference the day before.

Namely, that Microsoft has developed a copilot which uses an improved version of ChatGPT. The copilot will be integrated into the Bing web search engine and Edge browser.

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In contrast to Google, Microsoft has introduced a concrete AI chatbot integration that’s expected to reach more and more users in the coming weeks. Those wanting to try out the copilot now can register at bing.com/new and, with a little luck, ask the new search engine the first complex questions today.

All this didn’t go down well with the shareholders of Alphabet, Google’s parent company. On Wednesday alone, the company lost 100 billion USD in market value, which corresponds to a nine-per-cent drop in share price. The belief that Google will be able to launch a competitive AI chatbot anytime soon is fading.

The fact that the innovations actually presented in the Paris livestream have been drowned out in the media in view of the disaster has taken even more wind out of the search engine top dog’s sails.

Still, here are the most important improvements:

As of now, Google offers multisearch, which combines text, speech, images and more to give you results. For example, feeding a photo of a fabric to Google Lens together with the word pillow can deliver visually matching results – ideally, a pillow with the same fabric.
Maps will offer an expanded indoor Live View. It’ll be rolled out in the coming months and will help you better find your way around airports, train stations and shopping malls. In addition, Maps is expected to receive new features designed specifically for electric vehicles in the coming months. For example, Maps will then show you the best charging stops on your route.
Google Translate is to be more accessible. It now offers more customisable features, new contextual translation options and a new design.

Header image: Shutterstock

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Martin Jud

Senior Editor

martin.jud@digitecgalaxus.ch

I find my muse in everything. When I don’t, I draw inspiration from daydreaming. After all, if you dream, you don’t sleep through life.

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