Google launches ‘AI mode’ for search engine to compete with chatbots • FRANCE 24 English

Google launches ‘AI mode’ for search engine to compete with chatbots • FRANCE 24 English

Business now with Sh Pelgr. He is um starting with Google um making some big announcements at its developers conference on Tuesday. This is especially uh isn’t it Sh with regards to artificial intelligence. That’s right. Since Chad JPT’s come onto the scene in 2022, there’s been a mad scramble in Silicon Valley to try and integrate AI powered chat bots in many features. And there had been concerns that Google was lagging behind. Well, the tech giant clearly tried to alleviate those fears on Tuesday by saying they are rolling out a new search feature for US users called AI mode. It’s basically a new tab within Google search engine that users can activate and which answers questions in the conversational style of an AI chatbot and does not include a list of blue links like we’ve been accustomed to for so long. The new feature will be powered by the AI model that Google has developed itself called Gemini. Take a listen to Google CEO Sundar Pichai. It’s a total reimagining of search. With more advanced reasoning, you can ask AI mode longer and more complex queries like this. In fact, users have been asking much longer queries, two to three times the length of traditional searches. And you can go further with follow-up questions. All of this is available today as a new tab right in search. Yeah, it’s fascinating, isn’t it? But the roll out comes at a time when people’s internet search habits are really starting to change, aren’t they? And Google’s main revenue stream, search, is being threatened by AI chat bots like chat GPT or Perplexity, which people are increasingly using. Its shares even dropped earlier this month when an Apple executive said that they would likely offer AI options like Chad GPT in its uh Safari browser within the next year. And when you look at Alphabet’s results in the first quarter of the year, Google’s parent company depends on search and other related revenue for as much as 56% of their total revenue. So, it’s uh crucial for the company to try and maintain an edge in this field. But many questions remain, notably how to generate advertising revenue without having links to click on. Uh during the conference, the company said it was looking at different options, including working on virtual fitting rooms where users could try clothes on using AI, for instance. It’s getting more and more extreme, isn’t it? Uh there could be a silver lining for Google, couldn’t there? Mhm. As a reminder, a US judge has ruled uh that Google is illegally maintaining a search engine monopoly and is now considering a range of options, including a forced sale of the Chrome browser, which includes search business. As you can see here, its search engine represents almost 90% of all internet queries, uh dwarfing its closest competitor, Microsoft, uh Bing. But this chart doesn’t include AI chatbots like Chad GPT. And Google is now arguing that competition has revved up in this field since the case was brought back uh was brought back in 2020. Uh if anything when it comes to AI chatbot usage, Chad GPT is in a dominant position with close to 84% of global market share. Uh Gemini meanwhile represents just 2.5%. Don’t know about everyone else. Sean, I’m very pleased you’re a real human being to bring us the markets on the program. Yeah. Mhm. Uh let’s have a look at Europe, the major bores here at the open. Uh we’re seeing them trade lower. The Footsie in London down over a tenth of a percent lower. The in the UK annual inflation has it’s just been announced has jumped 3.5% in April. That’s above analyst expectations. A bad surprise after two months where that figure had cooled. UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves saying, “I’m disappointed with these figures because I know cost of living pressures are still weighing down on working people.” Going to take you to Japan for this next story. The country’s agriculture minister has just handed in his resignation. Unusual uh reason though, isn’t it? Mhm. Well, what might seem like a relatively innocuous gaff cost Taku Etto his job. The minister admitting that he rarely pays for rice as is so often given to him as a gift. That comment sparking indignation among the Japanese public who’ve seen rice prices nearly double in just a year. Brian Quinn explains. From an off-hand boast to a political scandal, Japan’s agriculture minister resigned his post Wednesday after telling a party conference that he rarely pays for rice as it’s always gifted to him by supporters. I would like to apologize again for making an inappropriate comment as the minister in charge while the Japanese people are struggling with rice prices. The remark touched a nerve in a country where its ubiquitous staple grain is becoming increasingly unaffordable. Rice prices hit an all-time high this month. A 5 kilo bag averaging the equivalent of more than €26, nearly double the price of just a year ago. The Japanese are proud of and extremely partial to their own domestically grown rice. But its production is inefficient, driven largely by small farms, often run by elderly farmers, a symptom of the country’s aging population overall. Poor harvests due to bad weather last year led to shortages and spiraling prices. The supply imbalance exacerbated by a recent influx of foreign tourists drawn by a cheap yen and an appetite for sushi, an appetite they take with them when they leave. Exports have risen sixfold since 2014, while imports are limited by high tariffs aimed at protecting domestic farmers. Despite the government releasing stockpiled rice from the country’s strategic reserve in March, the situation has led to widespread political dissatisfaction. Polling shows 87% of the Japanese public thinks the government is not doing enough to address soaring prices. Back to you, Stuart. Yeah, a bit of a gaff there from the Japanese, what was he? The Japanese agriculture minister.

US tech giant Google said during its developers’ conference on Tuesday that it was rolling out a new AI feature that could potentially transform the way people make internet queries. The firm relies heavily on its search business for its revenue and wants to make sure it can compete with AI startups, notably OpenAI and its flagship product, ChatGPT. Also, Japan’s agriculture minister resigns after making a joke about being gifted rice.
##Google ##AI ##SundarPichai

🔔 Subscribe to France 24 now: https://f24.my/YTen
🔴 LIVE – Watch FRANCE 24 English 24/7 here: https://f24.my/YTliveEN

🌍 Read the latest International News and Top Stories: https://www.france24.com/en/

Like us on Facebook: https://f24.my/FBen
Follow us on X: https://f24.my/Xen
Bluesky: https://f24.my/BSen and Threads: https://f24.my/THen
Browse the news in pictures on Instagram: https://f24.my/IGen
Discover our TikTok videos: https://f24.my/TKen
Get the latest top stories on Telegram: https://f24.my/TGen