Does Chat-GPT cause problems for Google? And what is Apple planning?

Hanover. For anyone interested in developments in artificial intelligence, this week is as exciting as it can get: two tech giants enter the ring and demonstrate new features of their AI models: the startup Open AI, in which Microsoft has invested billions, has on the Monday before and presented a new version of its well-known chatbot ChatGPT. On Tuesday evening, tech giant Google wanted to follow suit at its developer conference – numerous new features based on artificial intelligence were also expected at this presentation.

One thing is clear: the product presentations are not just about new gadgets. What matters most is which of the two AI developers will have more control in the long run. With its intelligent chatbot, Open AI had long eclipsed the attention of itself and almost all major technology companies, but the competition has long since caught up in many areas.

The question now is whether top dog Google can defend its position in internet searches and online advertising, or whether the market will be redistributed. The industry debates in recent weeks have already shown that Google must at least fight for its supremacy. If you believe the speculation, Open AI even wants to penetrate the core area of ​​the tech giant. Could this pose a serious threat to Google?

ChatGPT search engine coming soon?

In the spring, the first rumors circulated that Open AI, in addition to many intelligent chat functions, was even planning its own search engine or search function based on artificial intelligence. This would mean that the chatbot ChatGPT would close a vulnerability that has made the offering unusable in many cases so far: the AI ​​model does not take the truth very seriously, often spitting out errors, making things up or referring to sources that do don’t even exist. In the long run, it is believed that Chat GPT will become more intelligent. But: it would also take over the task that Google has been doing for almost thirty years.

The company is even said to have tried to poach Google employees for the project, reports the tech portal ‘The Verge’. The speculations have not yet come true: The ChatPGT version GPT-4o presented on Monday contains many new intelligent functions – but an explicit Internet search function was not part of the announcement.

This in turn gives Google an edge. The group is expected to present AI functions for its own search on Tuesday evening. We have been working on the ‘Search Genative Experience’ project for months, which is a bit like ChatGPT. You type a question into the Google search bar and it contains a direct answer in the search engine with several paragraphs – only below are the results of the classic web search listed.

The camera becomes intelligent

But Open AI and Google aren’t just competing in Internet search. At its product conference, the tech startup presented numerous features that are not yet fully operational at Google. In the future, ChatGPT will make it possible to have natural conversations that are not interrupted by long processing times, as was previously the case. In the future, the chatbot will also be able to process information from the smartphone camera. In the livestream, the tech startup demonstrated, among other things, how ChatGPT can help solve a mathematical equation.

Google itself is also working on such solutions. You can already talk to the Gemini chatbot, although not as fluently. A day before the developer conference, the company also surprisingly published information about new features in ‘Google Lens’ – the name of the camera function within the Google app.

In a promotional video, someone films the stage of the planned keynote and says, “Hey, what do you think is happening here?” The Google voice responds, “It looks like people are getting ready for a big event, maybe a conference or a presentation.” The timing of the video’s publication is likely not a coincidence, but rather a declaration of war against competitor Open AI.

Real-time translations without errors

Open AI and Google are also neck and neck when it comes to real-time translation. At the product presentation on Monday, head of technology Murati spoke Italian – ChatGPT immediately translated the statements into English. The program then translated Murati’s colleagues’ English answers back into Italian.

Competitor Google is taking a similar approach with its ‘Translator’ app: here too, the ‘Conversation’ function now makes it possible to communicate with people whose language you do not speak. However, the results are not always accurate, especially if you speak jargon or simply slur your speech.

Analysts still don’t expect Google to lose its market power so quickly. The group’s first-quarter revenue exceeded Wall Street expectations, and Google’s stock price rose 45 percent to nearly $171 from the previous year. This probably also has to do with the announcement of the new AI model in Google’s search results. Justin Post and Nitin Bansal of Bank of America wrote on Monday in light of the upcoming Google conferencethe AI ​​updates would ‘consolidate’ the group as an AI winner.

What is Apple planning?

Who will win the great AI battle may ultimately depend on another factor – and that factor is primarily Apple. According to media reports, the California tech company wants to improve its iOS 18 operating system and its oft-criticized Siri language model – and was apparently in negotiations with both companies: Open AI and Google.

As early as the spring, rumors circulated that Google’s chatbot Gemini could be integrated into Apple’s new operating system. Apple itself is probably working on an AI tool called “Ajax”, but it is probably not that far in development yet. Such a license would be a bit unusual: Apple and Google are tough competitors in the smartphone market and have even had bitter legal disputes in the past.

On Saturday reported “Bloomberg”Apple is in final talks with Open AI to integrate ChatGPT into its upcoming operating system. What exactly that means is still unclear: has the deal with Google not gone through? Or will the company possibly keep both doors open? June should provide clarity at the latest: Apple will then present its new operating system at its world developers conference.