Axios released a piece reporting that Google is gearing up to update Assistant with features driven by Generative AI. The outlet got hold of an email that Google sent to its employees. The mail mentions that the company has already initiated the exploration of a “supercharged” Assistant powered by the latest LLM (Large Language Models). It is similar to the technology powering ChatGPT by OpenAI and Bard by Google.
What does the email say?
The email reads, “A portion of the team has already started working on this, beginning with mobile.” Google also says that as a part of this change, it is shrinking the crew working on Assistant. In the email, it is mentioned that Google is “eliminating a small number of roles.” However, the total number of employees to be affected by this decision is not revealed. Axios reported that Google fired “dozens” of personnel.
Vice president of Google Assistant, Peeyush Ranjan, and the company’s product director, Duke Dukellis, wrote, “We remain deeply committed to Assistant and we are optimistic about its bright future ahead,” in the email.
Jennifer Rodstrom, a Google spokesperson, says in a statement toThe Verge, “Hundreds of millions of people use the Assistant every month and we’re committed to giving them high quality experiences.” She added, “We’re excited to explore how LLMs can help us supercharge Assistant and make it even better.”
Expected features
Google is tight-lipped on the types of features it has in mind to bring to Assistant. However, there are some huge possibilities. Since, it could have the same technology as Bard, the possibility of Google Assistant answering queries of people after thoroughly gathering information from across the web is rife.
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It is still unclear as to when Google shall bring this technology to its smart home products. However, going by the popular opinion not many would be comfortable with this due to its potential privacy implications.
