In a potentially game-changing move, OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, is rumoured to be entering the web search arena. It looks like the company wants to challenge Google’s longstanding dominance. A report from The Information suggests that OpenAI has been quietly developing a web search product. The report claims that the information was shared by an anonymous insider.
While details about the project remain unclear, speculation is rife about whether the search tool will be seamlessly integrated into ChatGPT or introduced as a standalone product. OpenAI’s ambitious move into Google’s territory seems to bring a whole new experience to how we navigate the internet with search. If the rumours hold, we might witness a shift from the familiar phrase “Google it” to “OpenAI it”.
However, the authenticity of the claims is yet to be verified. OpenAI, itself, has not officially acknowledged the project. The company has been notoriously vigilant about leaks, even resorting to hiring investigators to address potential insider threats.
According to the insider, OpenAI’s search engine might leverage Microsoft’s Bing for certain functionalities. This makes sense with Microsoft’s substantial investments in OpenAI. Not to mention, Microsoft’s ongoing integration of GPT-based AI into various products like Bing Chat and Copilot.
Open AI search landing page generated with Microsoft Copilot
The move follows OpenAI’s pattern of expanding the capabilities of ChatGPT which was initially limited by a data cutoff or silo. In recent months, OpenAI introduced web browsing features, utilizing Bing’s search capabilities. This strategic partnership with Microsoft suggests a collaborative effort to bring about a more contextual and conversational approach to web search. This approach could potentially surpass traditional keyword-focused engines.
Despite the challenges inherent in competing with Google’s established search dominance, OpenAI’s innovative approach and support from Microsoft may pave the way for a new way of searching. The emergence of a search tool with generative and contextual AI features introduces exciting possibilities for the future of search on the internet. However, we will still need to wait and see as OpenAI is playing its cards very close to its chest.
By integrating Gemini, a state-of-the-art AI model, into its Bard chatbot, Google is making its virtual assistant smarter and more adept. According to Google, with its improved reasoning, planning, and comprehending capabilities, Bard is now in a solid position to compete with ChatGPT.
Ultra, Pro, and Nano are the three varieties of Gemini. From cell phones to servers, these variations cover it all. Bard has a two-stage deployment. At first, it will receive an initial performance bump from Gemini Pro, and its abilities will spread next year. They hope to introduce Bard Advance, powered by Gemini Ultra, the most powerful version of Google’s LLM.
Gemini Pro has passed all eight benchmark tests, including six conducted before the big announcement, beating GPT-3.5. Even though GPT-3.5 has been around for over a year, Google maintains that Bard with Gemini Pro is the best free chatbot, according to independent tests. After undergoing a Gemini makeover, Bard can better comprehend and summarise information and reason, generate ideas, and plan to meet the user’s needs. Google claims a vast improvement, the most notable quality boost since Bard’s release.
Although Bard with Gemini Pro initially only supports word-based prompts, Google plans to integrate graphics, text, and more soon to provide multimodal help. When Bard Advanced makes its appearance in 2024, showing off Gemini Ultra, that’s when things heat up. Bard becomes an adaptable AI that can process code, graphics, audio, and video in this version.
In the following months, Gemini will power in several Google products and services, including Chrome, Ads, and Duet AI. The business will test out Gemini in Search to streamline and improve your web browsing experience. Besides that, Gemini Ultra and Bard Advanced guarantee a revolutionary AI experience—the capacity of Bard Advanced to comprehend and process various forms of data, including code. Before the wider launch, Google intends to implement a trusted tester programme to guarantee customer safety.
Now accessible in more than 170 countries in English, Bard with Gemini Pro is perfect for anyone looking to plunge headfirst into the upgraded Bard experience. Explore the improved chatbot at your leisure while Europe waits.
Acer has just unveiled its Chromebook Plus lineup – the Acer Chromebook Plus 515 and Acer Chromebook Plus 514. These Chromebooks are part of Google’s Chromebook Plus initiative, designed to deliver enhanced performance, improved hardware, and exciting new features that cater to the demands of modern users.
Google’s Chromebook Plus Initiative builds on its relatively successful Chromebook platform; taking it to the next level. It aims to deliver an enhanced Chromebook experience with better, more powerful hardware augmented by AI features while staying affordable.
A Duo for Elevated Chromebook Creativity
The Acer Chromebook Plus 515 and Chromebook Plus 514 are engineered to provide users with an elevated digital experience. Both models feature cutting-edge processors, high-resolution IPS displays, and 1080p cameras, all framed by sleek narrow bezels that draw you into the vibrant visuals.
These new Chromebooks empower users to unleash their creativity and productivity effortlessly. They come equipped with Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Express, making photo editing and graphic design a breeze. Users even receive three months of Adobe Express Premium at no additional cost. This allows you to enjoy Firefly-powered generative AI features and the precision of Photoshop as well as Adobe Express’s all-in-one capabilities.
The Chromebook Plus 515 and 514 come with built-in editing tools to simplify photo and video tasks. For instance, the AI-powered Magic Eraser feature in Google Photos effortlessly removes unwanted distractions. When offline, File Sync ensures uninterrupted access to Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides via Chromebook Plus File Manager.
Chromebooks Made for Work and More
The Chromebook Plus laptops offer ample memory and storage for seamless multitasking and content creation. With up to 16 GB of LPDDR5X RAM and up to 512GB of SSD storage, you’ll be ready to tackle any task both offline and online.
Being built primarily for online productivity, the Chromebook Plus 514 and 515 come with Wi-Fi 6E for fast and secure internet connectivity. You’ll also be able to leverage interconnectivity between ChromeOS and Android with Bluetooth 5.1 while an array of ports, including dual USB Type-C ports and HDMI, cover your charging, data transfer, and display extension needs.
Working on the go will no doubt entail a whole load of video conferencing. These Chromebooks live up to their Plus moniker with top-notch conferencing thanks to the built-in 1080p webcams. These webcams also come with Temporal Noise Reduction (TNR) and Blue Glass lenses. AI-powered tools help enhance clarity, cancel noise, and blur backgrounds, ensuring you always look and sound your best. For added privacy, a physical webcam shutter can be closed during meetings, with one-click mic muting and camera deactivation.
Acer Chromebook Plus 515 – Intel-ligently Built for Work and Play
The Acer Chromebook Plus 515 harnesses the power of 13th Gen and 12th Gen Intel Core processors (up to Core i7). These specifications offer efficient multitasking and up to 10 hours of usage on its fast-charging battery. The spacious 15.6-inch Full HD display with IPS technology and wide viewing angles ensures an immersive visual experience. Whether you prefer a touch or non-touch display, both options shine brightly even in well-lit conditions.
Acer Chromebook Plus 514 – Ryzen to the Task
The Acer Chromebook Plus 514 features the AMD Ryzen™ 5 7520 C-Series processor, combining high-performance “Zen 2” CPU cores with cutting-edge AMD RDNA™ 2 integrated graphics. This Chromebook offers rapid boot times and responsive performance for modern productivity and collaboration apps. Its 14-inch WUXGA display boasts a productivity-enhancing 16:10 aspect ratio, making it perfect for professionals and students on the move. The display features an anti-glare coating and IPS technology for crisp, clear visuals.
Sustainably and Sturdily Built
Both Chromebooks are U.S. MIL-STD 810H compliant, ensuring durability against daily wear and tear. They feature an OceanGlass™ touchpad and offer an optional backlit keyboard.
These Chromebooks support Acer’s Earthion initiative. They are sustainably built by incorporating recycled materials, come with sustainable packaging, and have energy-efficient designs that meet Energy Star certification.
Seamless Device Management for Schools and Businesses
For schools, both Chromebook Plus models are available with Chrome Education Upgrade, simplifying device management and providing access to essential teaching and collaboration tools.
For businesses, the Acer Chromebook Plus Enterprise 515 and Acer Chromebook Plus Enterprise 514 come with Chrome Enterprise Upgrade. These models unlock advanced business capabilities in ChromeOS, ensuring data and application protection, streamlined device management, and easy issue resolution.
Pricing and Availability
The Acer Chromebook Plus 515 starts at USD$399.99 (MYR1,891.81) and will be available in North America and EMEA in October.
The Acer Chromebook Plus 514 starts at USD 399.99 (MYR1,891.81) and will also be available in North America and EMEA in October.
Google’s Generative AI, Duet is here to lend a hand when you use apps in Google Workspace. Duet has just entered general availability and is poised to transform how you work with Google Docs, Slides, Sheets, and Gmail.
Duet AI’s integration into Google Workspace is such that it’s your digital collaborator. It doesn’t replace you. As the name suggests, it works together with you; simplifying tasks and streamlining your workflow. Its capabilities are nothing short of remarkable, allowing you to harness the power of AI to improve your productivity and efficiency. Here’s a closer look at what Duet AI brings to the table:
1. Summarize with Ease: Imagine being able to instantly generate summaries on topics you’ve saved, like your business’s quarterly performance. Duet AI can do just that. It scours through your Gmail, Docs, Slides, and Sheets to craft comprehensive summaries, saving you precious time.
2. Fact-Checking Made Simple: Duet AI is committed to transparency. When it compiles information, it provides links to the sources, empowering you to fact-check and verify data accuracy. It’s a handy feature that ensures the reliability of your work.
3. Presentation Perfection: Need to create a compelling presentation? Duet AI has you covered. It can generate presentations complete with relevant text, charts, and images sourced from your Drive. This feature streamlines the presentation creation process, making your work more visually engaging.
4. Gmail Assistance: In Gmail, Duet AI builds on the Smart Reply feature. With a click, you can access various options to help you compose emails effortlessly. You can instruct Duet AI to draft messages of specific types, refine tones, make drafts more elaborate or concise, or even opt for some creative fun with the “I’m feeling lucky” option.
5. Smarter Document Creation: Google Docs users will appreciate the AI’s prowess in generating documents. You can instruct Duet AI to craft drafts with different tones, create summaries for sections or entire documents, employ bullet points, or even use custom instructions to fine-tune generated content.
6. User-Friendly Interface: The “help me write” feature in Docs offers access to Smart Canvas features, enhancing your document creation experience.
Google is continuing to commit to transparency and responsible AI usage with Duet AI. The company reassures users that Duet will respect the privacy of their data, ensuring that their inputs and code remain theirs. Any data in private clouds, Google Drive and Google Workspace remain private and aren’t used for training shared models or product development.
While Duet AI is currently available for Google Workspace Enterprise users, Google has plans to roll it out to small- and medium-sized businesses and consumers in the near future. The pricing details for these expanded offerings are yet to be revealed.
Google’s Android Auto has been getting constant updates for a while now and is getting the attention it finally deserves. Android Auto has been a blessing for plenty of Android users in their cars. With every update, they just get better, more useful, and even more relevant to drivers today than ever before. You can use Google Assistant seamlessly in your car, for example. You can also reply to text messages via Android Auto, obviously via voice activation. In one of their latest updates, the interface now allows you to spread the screen out in multiple windows with Google Maps or Waze taking up most of the real estate while allowing another app like YouTube Music, Tidal, or Spotify in a smaller window. Even your notification can get its own window in the latest interface.
Source: Google
In their latest update, Google is looking to make Android Auto a better journey companion than before by bringing more apps into the Android Auto Ecosystem. For those that are always on-the-go but can never get away from their smartphones for work, Google is bringing Zoom and WebEx into Android Auto for a more seamless video call experience even when you are stuck in a terrible traffic jam. For the long-drawn-out standstill traffic, they are also bringing Prime Video into the fold. Best of all though, for better journey planning, they are bringing weather updates via The Weather Channel app into Android Auto.
The Weather Channel app has been the most popular weather prediction app on Android devices worldwide. It is only natural to start bringing the app into Android Auto for the purpose of journey planning. The Android Auto version of the app will operate a little differently from the smartphone app though. There are still some similarities like push weather updates, but now it is more catered toward your specific journeys. It updates the users of incoming bad weather, for example, just so that you can either plan around the traffic build up, or brace for extended journey times. The Android Auto app also can offer hourly forecasts, follow-me alerting, and Trip View radar that allows you to be your own F1 race engineer watching out for rain on your journey.
Source: Google
The updates are being rolled out to Android Auto units by select manufacturers currently and will roll out to other users following the select manufacturers. They are also rolling out digital key support in select regions for select manufacturers and models. Of course, while that nifty feature allows you to lock and unlock your car via your smartphone, you want to keep in mind that it will only work if your care comes natively with Android Auto. More information on the latest updates on Android Auto can be found on their website.
For avid YouTube users, the platform’s abundance of ads during video playback, especially on smart TVs, can sometimes be more than a minor annoyance. YouTube appears to be listening to its viewers and is testing a new approach to ad delivery that could provide a more seamless watching experience, albeit with longer ad breaks.
YouTube is recognizing that how we watch content is evolving. With more viewers enjoying longer videos on their smart TVs, the current frequency of ad interruptions might not align with the viewing experience. In response, YouTube is experimenting with reducing the number of ads shown but extending their duration.
For many viewers of long-form content on TV screens, having ads scattered throughout a video can be disruptive. Google’s research reveals that 79% of viewers prefer ads that are grouped together rather than spread out in smaller interruptions. To cater to this preference, YouTube is exploring options to provide fewer but longer ad breaks, creating a more seamless viewing experience on larger screens.
Improved Transparency
In addition to fewer, longer ad breaks, YouTube is considering enhancing the transparency of its ad experience. This may include providing viewers with better information about the duration of ad breaks, allowing users to prepare for more extended interruptions.
While these changes are currently experimental, YouTube tends to introduce them if they prove successful and enhance the viewer experience. So, if you’re a regular YouTube viewer on a smart TV, you can look forward to a potentially improved ad experience in the near future. However, if longer ad breaks are not your preference, YouTube Premium remains an ad-free alternative worth considering.
YouTube’s efforts to strike a balance between ads and content are in response to evolving viewer habits. As the platform continues to lead in streaming watch time on connected TVs, it aims to provide an experience that aligns better with the expectations of its audience.
Google Chat is getting some big updates that take significant strides to better the user experiences and add interoperability across platforms.
Google Chat will soon be able to Duet you and help you collaborate even better with your coworkers. Duet AI is Google’s real-time collaboration partner is designed to provide users with updates, insights, and proactive suggestions across their Google Workspace apps. It will also be able to handle complex queries and even search through organisational data by searching through messages and files in Gmail and Drive. You won’t be slugging away to summarizing shared documents, and even offering recaps of missed conversations much longer as Duet AI will be able to take over with a simple prompt.
Together with the inclusion of Duet AI, Google Chat is getting a makeover. It will be getting updated colour schemes, typography, and visual styling inline with Google’s Material 3 design language. It will also be getting a little bit more accessible with a unified conversation list that will consolidate direct messages and spaces. Additionally, new shortcuts, including a chronological home view, @mentions, and starred conversations, aim to streamline communication for users.
New Features To Enhance Collaboration
Collaboration is taking centerstage in Google Chat. Google is introducing a bevvy of new features that will allow teams to work seamlessly and collaborate more efficiently.
One of the many changes coming to Google Chat is the integration of Smart Canvas on the chat platform. This will allow teams to collaboration real time and interact seamlessly as if they were in the same room even remotely. The addition of smart chips for quick file sharing directly from the compose bar will also make collaborating a breeze. Accessing relevant conversation threads is also getting easier with in-line threading improvements.
Speaking of real time collaboration, Huddles offers teams a way to communicate in real time through quick-to-join audio and video conversations. Huddles seamlessly integrate meetings into the Chat experience, eliminating the need to switch between platforms. This feature is expected to enter customer preview by the end of the year.
Of course, in many organisation or even when it comes to cross organisational collaboration, compatibility is always an issue. Recognizing that collaboration often spans multiple platforms and tools, Google Chat is partnering with Mio, a collaborative interoperability solutions provider. This collaboration enables messaging interoperability between Google Chat and other platforms such as Slack and Microsoft Teams.
Scaling your team and collaborating with more parties will now be easier with Google Chat. The limitations on team size on team size is figuratively going away with Google increasing the number of members in spaces to a whopping 500,000 members compared to 8,000 members previously. This will allow larger corporations to manage their workforces through a single space.
Better Search, More Privacy
Google Chat’s search functionality is receiving a revamp. It will feature a redesigned results page and enhanced features such as suggested queries, autocomplete, and AI-based relevance ranking of results. Additionally, an autocorrect feature is being introduced to the suite of AI-powered composition tools, ensuring professional and polished communication.
With Chat being integrated into the Workspace ecosystem, users benefit from built-in protections against spam, phishing, and malware. Real-time data loss prevention warnings and content moderation tools help organizations maintain data security and privacy.
Google I/O in May 2023 saw them launching a sort of experimental open-sourced AI platform that is the Google Bard. In our write-up, we theorized that Google Bard is a direct response to ChatGPT, or rather, an attempt to compete with or replicate the technology that is ChatGPT-4. Before you get confused, again, Google’s Bard is not the result of their DeepMind AI project. It is not exactly Google Assistant as well, though sharing plenty of similarities.
At its launch, Google’s Bard was only available in English, Japanese, and Korean. Despite only working in three languages, the experiment was made available in 180 countries at launch. It is also important to know that the Google Bard you see in May’s Google I/O 2023 is not in its first iteration.
A few months on and Google is updating Bard to be more relevant to plenty more users around the world. The latest update to Bard makes it now available in over 40 languages, including the ones it started with. They also made it available in more than the original 180 countries including countries in the European region and Brazil. Of course, this is not where Google will stop with Bard. They are still planning to bring their Bard service to more regions in the future, but they are also doing it in stages in accordance with regulatory bodies, policy makers, and experts in the different regions they are expanding to. They also say that they are taking privacy and data into consideration when taking steps in expanding their services.
Language is also not the only thing that is being updated in Google Bard. Google has also updated Bard to improve its ability to customize its responses even more. Instead of just written responses, Google Bard can even read out its own response with correct pronunciation in case you are wondering how to say certain words. This is also available in 40 languages in the new update, which makes Bard super useful when you go travel too. You can even customize the responses from Bard by telling it to respond in five different options: simple, long, short, professional, or casual. Like ChatGPT, you can even ask Google Bard to create listings or postings for various things on various platforms. For now, this one is only available in English though. Obviously, the feature will be available in more languages as Google Bard collects more contextual data in different languages and regions.
Like your browser history, your interaction with Bard should not only last for that short minute you interact with the platform. The platform makes it easier for you to revisit conversations and topics you might have dropped off from with Bard. You can now pin your conversations and rename them so that you can archive it and bring it up on a later date when you have the time or whenever necessary. They have also improved Bard’s coding capabilities by now offering the ability to export Python codes to Replit and Google Colab to make coding much easier and faster. You can even share your Bard conversations with your friends and have them see the ideas you have thought of with the help of Bard. Google Lens is also now integrated into Bard. That means you can either take a photo or upload images with prompts or requests and Bard will analyze the photo to help with its responses.
Twitter, under the new management of Elon Musk, is a different one than the one we were introduced to more than a decade ago. In just a few months after Elon Musk took over the social media platform as CEO, the platform started charging people for the blue ticks that indicates verified accounts. In a recent stir, the platform restricted contents to just people who are registered on the platform. A little later, they introduced a rate limit, where non-paying users get to see only up to a certain number of tweets a day. Specifically, you get to see up to 600 tweets a day before a limit error comes up to stop you from scrolling some more. Now, Twitter results are disappearing from Google search results.
While it may seem to be a deliberate move from Twitter to limit access to the platform by unregistered users. The disappearance and lack of Twitter content is a direct result of Google simply not picking up tweets from the platform because of the access restriction from Twitter. The Google Search engine still picks up feeds from Twitter with their API, but it has reduced significantly as noted by Search Engine Land. According to their report, Google Search has dropped more than half of the indexed URLs from Twitter. That is not to say that you cannot see tweets from Twitter in a Google search though. You still can, but you can only see new tweets that are made public. There are no mentions currently indicating the age limit of a tweet showing up on the Google Search platform.
There are rumours that this is just a temporary thing. Speculations regarding the lack of Twitter results in Google Search is due to the large changes happening within Twitter and for its users. In 2015, Twitter and Google had a deal where Twitter gave access to the full stream of tweets on Twitter’s platform, known today as the “Firehose”. While that was done before the Elon Musk era of Twitter, there are no reasons to believe that the deal has changed in any way for now. Then again, Twitter and Google are keeping any information close their chests for now, so we may see a change in stance from both parties in the coming days.
The move to limit Twitter only to registered is nothing new in the social media space. If you want to see a post or story from Facebook, you must get registered with the platform. Even for Instagram, you are only able to see single posts from users before needing to sign up for the platform to have access to the library of content the platform holds. In this sense, Twitter is technically pretty much just following in the steps of other social media platforms. Still, we think that closing off access to Twitter might be more damaging than helpful to the platform, especially since Elon Musk is focusing on monetizing the platform. It limits the option to run ads that could even be visible from Google itself and reaching out entire populations that do not have Twitter accounts or have no intention to get on the platform just to entertain themselves with microblogs.
Nothing is confirmed at this point, but Elon Musk may just denounce the deal with Google at any time. While it does not sound like a major loss to Google, it is a small loss to content creators who are active on Twitter. It is a loss in exposure of the platform and users. It closes off the platform to be used as a public announcement platform too in this case. Currently, only time can tell whether or not this is going to be a permanent thing.
Google’s Gmail is the next best thing to happen to emails and online accounts since Hotmail, Friendster, and Facebook. In almost every service you have on your smartphone or on the web, you tend to rely solely on your Google account. You sign into your Netflix account with your Google email, you sign into your Facebook account with Google email, you register for services with your Google email. Why not? It is free, and super easy to use and set-up.
The thing is, because of its ease of use, people tend to take advantage of it. You sign up for multiple accounts, you use those accounts to sign up for free services all around the internet just so that you can take advantage of free use periods of certain premium services. Yes, you can do that with YouTube premium, but do not recommend you do that. You would also have to have a new Gmail account every month, a headache to manage.
Google has been cracking down on phishing scams, account hijacking, and general email security for a long time with Gmail. But there is always going to be problems, especially when an account has been idle for too long. It not only takes up space in the database, but it also becomes a security concern, especially with the rising cases of account hijacking cases of late. According to Google’s internal teams, abandoned or forgotten accounts that are ten-folds less active than regular accounts does not feature added security layers like 2-step verification, meaning that the accounts tend to be a lot more vulnerable for hacks and identity theft, phishing basically.
While Google is giving more control over their accounts to users who owns the accounts in one way or another, they are adding another policy to their already extensive guidelines to Google accounts usage. Google will be deleting accounts that have been inactive for two years and above. If you have a Google account you have not activated or logged into for the past two years and more, you will no have access to them anymore come December 2023. This deletion will be a complete deletion that even includes data from Google Workspace apps and Google Photos.
For now, the policy only affects personal Google Accounts. If you are a business relying on Google’s services, you still have full control over your own Google Accounts. They are also taking a phased approach to the deletion and will inform users comprehensively and accordingly.
