MOUNTAIN VIEW: Google on Wednesday said it is opening Bard, a rival to Microsoft-backed ChatGPT, to 180 countries as it expands use of artificial intelligence across its platform.
Executives at an annual Google developers conference in Silicon Valley said that generative AI will also be used to supercharge the tech giant鈥檚 leading search engine.
鈥淲e have been applying AI for a while, with generative AI we are taking the next step,鈥� Google chief executive Sundar Pichai told thousands of developers gathered for the event.
鈥淲e are reimagining all our core products, including search,鈥� he said.
Google is racing to catch up with rival Microsoft, which has rushed to integrate ChatGPT-like powers in a wide array of its products, including the Bing search engine.
Microsoft鈥檚 dash into AI came despite fears about the technology鈥檚 potential threat to society, including its impact on the spread of disinformation and whether it could make whole categories of jobs obsolete.
Cathy Edwards of Google Search said the new experience would be akin to a search that is 鈥渟upercharged鈥� by a conversational bot.
Other Google executives laid out how generative AI is being woven into Gmail, photo editing, online work tools and more.
The company鈥檚 AI efforts would be carried out in a 鈥渂old and responsible鈥� way, senior product director Jack Krawczyk said during a briefing.
Google鈥檚 expansion meant it removed a waitlist for Bard, letting users around the world engage with it in English after months of testing it out in the US and Britain.

On Tuesday, the tech giant announced the service has been rolled out in 180 countries and territories worldwide, including 黑料社区 and the UAE among others in the region.

Bard is currently available in three languages - English, Japanese and Korean - but the AI chatbot will be modified to support 40 languages in coming months, according to Krawczyk.
鈥淲e鈥檙e excited to get Bard into more people鈥檚 hands,鈥� Krawczyk said.
鈥淲e鈥檙e pretty fired up about where Bard is going.鈥�
Google also announced browser 鈥渆xtensions鈥� that will imbue apps and services such as Gmail and Maps with AI features.
Bard technology will enable features such as filling in text to help draft emails and suggesting ideas for artwork by scrutinizing a picture of available supplies.
Google is also letting partners build such extensions, including one from Adobe that will let users generate images, Krawczyk said.
The tech titan also unveiled new Pixel devices including a $1,799 foldable smartphone with a bendable screen that is the size of a tablet computer when opened.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e getting the best of both worlds,鈥� Google senior vice president of devices Rick Osterloh said of the Fold.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a powerful smartphone when it鈥檚 convenient and an immersive tablet when you need one.鈥�
Google also added a new tablet and a lower-priced version of its flagship smartphone to the Pixel lineup.

Google鈥檚 announcements came a week after rival Microsoft expanded public access to its generative artificial intelligence programs, which are powered by models made by OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT.
鈥淭his could be a defining moment in the AI battle with Google and Microsoft going head-to-head for market share,鈥� Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said in a note to investors.
Microsoft鈥檚 early investment in OpenAI gave it a head start 鈥渋n this Game of Thrones Battle for Big Tech with Google now playing major catchup mode,鈥� the analyst added.
AI-enhanced features of Microsoft鈥檚 Bing search engine and Edge Internet browser recently became open for anyone.
The services have been enhanced with the ability to work with images as well as text, and Microsoft intends to add video to the mix.
Despite the rollouts by two of the world鈥檚 biggest companies, risks from AI include its potential uses for disinformation, with voice clones, deep-fake videos and convincing written messages.
A range of experts in March urged a pause in the development of powerful AI systems to allow time to make sure they are safe.
Their open letter, signed by more than 1,000 people, including billionaire Elon Musk and Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak, was prompted by generative AI technology from Microsoft-backed firm OpenAI.
A prominent computer scientist often dubbed 鈥渢he godfather of artificial intelligence鈥� recently quit his job at Google to speak out about the dangers of the technology.
Geoffrey Hinton, who created some of the technology underlying AI systems, maintained that the existential threat from AI is 鈥渟erious and close.鈥�

With AFP