Since OpenAI released its conversational bot, ChatGPT, and took the generative AI sector by storm, Google has been frantically trying to catch up to it. Google has announced a new strategy: they’re packing every single product they can with AI, just like they did in the Google+ era with social features. Google’s initial attempt to respond with the release of its Bard AI (which immediately misquoted easily verifiable stats about the JWST) was tepid at best.
Almost all of Google Workspace’s products will get the new functionality. Users will be able to “draft, reply, summarize, and prioritise” emails, “brainstorm, proofread, write, and rewrite” text documents, have Slides automatically create images and even video, have Sheets automatically create formulas, automate transcription notes in Meet, and “enable workflows for getting things done” in Chat, claims the company.
For instance, users of Google Docs will only need to enter the subject of their assignment onto the page in order to swiftly generate extra text using Google’s generative AI suite. Even if the user has only written a list of bullet points, the system can use the Rewrite function to rework (hopefully enhancing) what the user has previously written. Additionally, Gmail now has a new “I’m feeling lucky” option that the HR department of your business is sure to love.
After the Bard fiasco, Google redoubled its efforts to prevent its AIs from failing in the same way that Microsoft’s did. Johanna Voolich Wright, VP of Product at Google Workspace, stated on Tuesday that “AI is no replacement for the ingenuity, creativity, and smarts of real people.” To that end, the firm is designing its products within the confines of its AI Principles, which are as legally binding as the company’s previous “Don’t be evil” credo. “Sometimes the AI gets things wrong, sometimes it delights you with something offbeat, and oftentimes it requires guidance.” By the end of the month, English-speaking customers in the US should have access to the new AI-enabled Workspace package, and additional languages and regions should follow shortly after.
