Microsoft and Google have just made huge announcements which will shape the way we all use search engines in the near future. Microsoft has invested in OpenAI, the company behind the new ChatGPT AI-enabled chat assistant that has caused quite a stir since the latest version was released to the public last year. This investment has led to Microsoft announcing in February that its search engine Bing will offer an AI chat feature. You can sign up now to test out this feature and see some examples of answers at Bing.com.
Google was quick to strike back in this new search arms race by announcing its own AI chat assistant called Bard. This is not yet available, but Google also quickly launched a number of AI enhancements to Google Maps and Translate at an event in Paris.
Microsoft has stolen a march on Google, but overall it is clear that the way we search for information and answers on the Internet is about to change radically. ChatGPT is a glimpse into the future of how AI will become embedded in almost everything we do using devices, online and using software. The current versions of AI do have to be approached with caution though, as they have no sense of whether what they produce is correct or false and can often only produce fairly generic, bland copy. They can however be great for generating ideas or as the basis of a human edited and written article.
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