Google Develops Challenger to Meta’s Chatbots and Character.AI

Google wants chatbots that people can hang with—not just pelt with questions.

The search engine giant has been developing a product for creating and conversing with customizable chatbots, which could be modeled on celebrities or made by users, two people with direct knowledge of the project said. The bots would be similar to the online personalities from Meta Platforms and startup Character.AI, based on celebrities like football star Tom Brady and TV character Tony Soprano.

Staff have discussed launching the new chatbots as soon as this year, one of the people said. The plans, which haven’t been previously reported, speak to how tech giants are looking for ways to turn breathtaking advances in generative artificial intelligence into apps that can keep consumers hooked.