What Google’s AI Catch-Up Reveals

Google is finally waking up. After weeks of excitement coursing through tech about OpenAI’s ChatGPT chatbot, paired with news coverage of how Microsoft plans to incorporate it into products like Bing and Word, Google has made a move. The tech company once seen as a leader in artificial intelligence on Monday unveiled its version of a conversational AI service, which it calls Bard. Google said it was opening Bard “to trusted testers ahead of making it more widely available to the public in the coming weeks.” It’s about time.

It was surely no coincidence that the announcement came the day before Microsoft had scheduled a press briefing in Redmond, Wash., where it was expected to talk in more detail about its plans for OpenAI tech. (See our coverage of what Microsoft is planning here and here.)  Despite that little bit of one-upmanship, Microsoft appears to have gained an edge on Google, at least in public perception of AI. It says a lot about how sluggish Google has become that it has allowed itself to look like a follower in an area it should be dominating.