Here's how Google says AI will change your search, email experience

Lauren Martinez Image
Thursday, May 11, 2023
Here's how Google says AI will change your search, email experience
Google CEO Sundar Pichai announced on Wednesday they will soon be rolling out the new AI-incorporated search as an experiment.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (KGO) -- Google is changing the online search experience. On Wednesday, Artificial Intelligence was the focus during its annual developer conference in Mountain View.



"We are at an exciting inflection point we have an opportunity to make AI even more helpful," Google CEO Sundar Pichai said.



The company unveiled AI technology in Gmail that can produce replies in seconds.



They're testing a conversational chatbot called Bard. You can prompt Bard with questions and images.



MORE: What are the benefits and concerns of artificial intelligence? Bay Area experts weigh in


Italy announced that they are temporarily banning the latest version of Chat GPT from San Francisco-based company Open AI.


But their biggest announcement was how AI technology will be incorporated into their search.



Today, typing in a prompt will bring up those traditional blue links.



Eventually the search will include more extensive information. It will allow you to engage in conversational mode and ask follow up questions.



AI has been around for decades but now experts say we're at a crucial moment.



MORE: Snapchat rolls out My AI chatbot powered by ChatGPT to all users



Grant Kien, a Professor of Communications for Cal State East Bay, said many people didn't think we'd live to see this day when AI is a viable product.



"This is the point in which it's becoming public, it's becoming usable at this moment," Kien said. "And it's surprising people in the general public because of the speed."



Tech giants like Google are competing and going to market fast. Professor Kien suggests users be aware and be discerning of AI content.



"Big tech is not going to rescue us from anything they are in business," Kien said. "Whatever business model is working for their stock prices is what they will pursue. So we cannot just blindly trust these companies but at the same time we do want to use these things, this is why they're popular."



MORE: AI-powered website works to answer questions about San Francisco



San Francisco GPT is a AI-powered website that answers a variety of questions about San Francisco from the best places for coffee to crime statistics.


He said holding companies accountable is important.



"I would say keep learning," Kien said. "Don't ignore it. It's here and we have to own it because this is the world we live in. And we can't just forfeit our responsibility to machines. We can use machines to help us. We can use AI to help us, but we also need to know what AI really is so that we can maintain control over it."



The new Google search will be rolling out in the next few weeks as an experiment, so if people want to join a waitlist you can sign up here.



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