Google to develop its own answer to ChatGPT

Around 10 years back, if someone would have made a bold claim saying that Google’s monopoly in search engines could be challenged at all, he/she would be guilty of wishful thinking. After all, Google Search has become so entwined with our lives, that whenever we want to look something up, we just “Google it”. Just last month, internal sources at Google have anonymously spoken about a “CODE RED” situation declared in the company, in response to the AI-based chatbot, ChatGPT. 

Now, if you have not heard of ChatGPT, you are in the technological stone age, but let us explain it. ChatGPT is an AI (artificial intelligence) driven chatbot developed by OpenAI, a startup co-founded by Elon Musk and Sam Altman. The development of this chatbot was propelled by a $10 billion investment by… you guessed it, Microsoft (remember Gmail Man campaign by Microsoft?). 

But why is this seemingly harmless technology sending shivers down Google’s spine? Google has had a strong footing in the search engine domain for as long as the domain has existed. What Google now fears is that users will switch to using ChatGPT for help rather than sift through scores of websites to find the most appropriate information for their perusal. ChatGPT is a smart bot that will give you the best answer based on intelligent AI algorithms.

ChatGPT offers crisp and prompt responses to even the most specific complex problems, something Google does not do. Sundar Pichai has announced plans for a chatbot in the coming months, to act as a companion to Google Search. ChatGPT is giving sleepless nights, not only to Google, but to educationists, designers and researchers who this enticing technology can legitimize plagiarism. That is something, best left to the marketplace to decide.