Hyderabad: Tech giant Google unveiled a new search engine on Tuesday that will often prioritise Artificial Intelligence-generated answers over links to websites, a move that promises to speed up the search process while potentially slowing down the flow of revenue-generating web traffic.
The overhaul, announced at Google’s annual developers conference, will take effect in the United States beginning this week, when hundreds of millions of users will begin to see conversations generated by Google’s AI technology appear on the first page of search results.
“This bold and responsible approach is fundamental to delivering on our mission and making AI more helpful for everyone,” Google CEO Sundar Pichai said.
--Image, Video, and Music Generated by AI--
Imagen 3 - For Text
Apart from the integration of AI in search, Google unveiled AI-powered generation tools for images, videos, and music called Imagen 3, Veo, and Music AI Sandbox, respectively. The company introduced Imagen 3, a text-to-image generation model. The image generator is preferred in side-by-side comparisons with other image generators, the company said. "Best model yet for rendering text," Pichai said.
Veo - For Video
For generative video, Google announced Veo, which can create video content from text and video prompts. The system also has an experimental Video Effects tool. The company said that some of the Veo features will be available to some creators on Labs.Google.
Music AI Sandbox - For Music
Google reported that it has been working with YouTube to create a music generator called Music AI Sandbox. The tool has been designed and tested with artists, the company said.
--Improvement in AI Model, Gemini--
Google announced enhancements to its AI model, Gemini 1.5 Pro. The company also launched the new Gemini 1.5 Flash model, and added two new Gemma models, as well as unveiled a new version of its tensor processing unit (TPU).
Gemma 1.5 Pro updates include enhancements for translation, coding, and reasoning, as well as other uses to enhance quality. The Gemini 1.5 flash is optimised for more specific tasks where speed is a priority. Both Gemini 1.5 pro and the new flash model are available in preview beginning Tuesday and will be broadly available in June.
Google also announced two new models for Gemma, part of Google’s family of “lightweight open models.” PaliGemma, Google’s first “vision-language open model”, is available on Tuesday, while Gemma 2 is expected to be the next generation of the Gemma family in June.
--Google Ask Photos--
Google also introduced robust visual search tools into Google Photos. With a new feature called Ask Photos, users will now be able to ask Gemini to search for photos and deliver more granular results than before. The feature is currently in an experimental feature that the company is planning to roll out soon, with more capabilities to come.
Example: Getting tasks done is also easier in Google Photos with the help of Gemini models. For example, at the end of a long trip, it can be daunting to curate the best snaps you took to share with friends and family. Ask Photos can help you create a trip highlight more easily. All you need to do is ask, and it’ll suggest top pictures — and even write a personalized caption to share on social media.
AI at Workspace and Project Astra
Google announced the integration of Gemini 1.5 Pro into Google Workspace. This integration transforms Gemini into a versatile assistant within Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, Drive, and Gmail, seeking to change how professionals interact with their digital environments by fetching and incorporating information across applications.
The tech giant announced enhancing Gemini's integration within its ecosystem, particularly Gmail. The AI will now be able to summarise emails, highlight key points from Google Meet recordings, and assist in drafting responses, available via Workspace Labs.
