Google, the parent company of Alphabet, has recently held an event to promote its new artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot, Bard. Unfortunately, the event resulted in a 7% plummet in Alphabet’s stock shares as the chatbot came up with inaccurate information in a promotional video. This blunder caused Alphabet to lose $100 billion in market value and led to a decline in stocks.
Competing with Microsoft’s recent event, where they showcased their AI-powered search engine Bing, Google’s Bard failed to impress investors. The search engine market is projected to suffer greatly if Google cannot outpace Microsoft’s Bing.
Introduction to Bard, Google’s AI Chatbot
Bard is a conversational AI service that Google plans to roll out in the coming weeks. It is powered by Google’s Language Model for Dialogue Applications (LaMDA) and seeks to combine the world’s knowledge with the power, intelligence, and creativity of Google’s large language model. The chatbot reportedly draws on information from the web to provide fresh and high-quality responses.
Bard’s Capabilities and AI Improvements in Google Products
At the event, Google demonstrated some of Bard’s capabilities such as deciding the pros and cons of buying an electric car or planning a trip in Northern California. The event also showcased the AI improvements Google has made to other products, including Maps and Google Lens.
Google’s Dominance in the Search Engine Market
Despite the setback with Bard, Google’s search business remains strong with over 86% of the search market share. Bing, on the other hand, has a market share of 25.7%, putting it at a disadvantage to Google. Google has several advantages, including the integration and ecosystem it has created within its services, making it challenging for users to switch to a different default.
Challenges to Google’s Dominance
According to Kabeer Chaudhary, APAC managing director of M&C Saatchi Performance, Bing will pose a challenge to Google’s dominance. The challenge will depend on how well Bard performs compared to Open AI’s GPT3. Chaudhary also states that Google is heavily reliant on search revenue and even a small percentage of market share being taken away will have a significant impact on their bottom line.
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Google’s new AI chatbot Bard failed to impress investors, causing Alphabet’s stock shares to plummet by 7%. Despite this setback, Google’s search business remains strong with a significant market share advantage over its competition. However, Bing will pose a challenge to Google’s dominance, and the impact of this challenge will depend on how well Bard performs compared to Open AI’s GPT3.
