Chatbots are all the rage since Microsoft-backed OpenAI launched ChatGPT late last year. Now other tech giants are rolling out their own contributions to the artificial intelligence space, with Google owner Alphabet on Tuesday announcing the launch of a chatbot service called Bard.
"We’ve been working on an experimental conversational AI service, powered by LaMDA, that we’re calling Bard," CEO Sundar Pichai wrote in a blog post. "And today, we’re taking another step forward by opening it up to trusted testers ahead of making it more widely available to the public in the coming weeks."
The announcement marks the latest salvo in a brewing Silicon Valley rivalry over the future of artificial intelligence, a technology with potentially widespread implications for computing, information-sharing, and work.
Bard combines information on the web with what are called "large language models" to generate "fresh, high-quality responses" to users, according to Google.
The version that will soon be available to the public, however, won't have the full computing power of Google's LaMDA (Language Model for Dialogue Applications). Instead, users will test a "lightweight" version designed to allow for easier feedback.
The company also said that it plans to incorporate AI features into its search engine, so that users can ask more complex questions in their search bar.
Microsoft on Tuesday is expected to make a similar announcement about integrating ChatGPT with its Bing search engine. The company is holding a surprise news event at 1 p.m. ET just days after expanding its partnership with OpenAI through a new “multiyear, multibillion dollar investment.”
While the competitive pressure is on, Pichai noted that Google is trying to be "responsible" as it develops this powerful technology.
"Whether it’s applying AI to radically transform our own products or making these powerful tools available to others, we’ll continue to be bold with innovation and responsible in our approach," he wrote.
The Trump administration has issued its first warnings to online services that offer unofficial versions of popular drugs like the blockbuster obesity treatment Wegovy.
Parents of teenagers who died by suicide after interacting with AI chatbots are set to testify before Congress.
Albania's Prime Minister Edi Rama says his new Cabinet will include an artificial intelligence “minister” in charge of fighting corruption. The AI, named Diella, will oversee public funding projects and combat corruption in public tenders. Diella was launched earlier this year as a virtual assistant on the government's public service platform. Corruption has been a persistent issue in Albania since 1990. Rama's Socialist Party won a fourth consecutive term in May. It aims to deliver EU membership for Albania in five years, but the opposition Democratic Party remains skeptical.
The Federal Trade Commission has launched an inquiry into several social media and artificial intelligence companies about the potential harms to children and teenagers who use their AI chatbots as companions.
Swedish buy now, pay later company Klarna is making its highly anticipated public debut on the New York Stock Exchange Wednesday, the latest in a run of high-profile initial public offerings this year. The offering priced at $40 Tuesday, above the forecasted range of $35 to $37 a share, valuing the company at more than $15 billion. The valuation easily makes Klarna one of the biggest IPOs so far in 2025, which has been one of the busier years for companies going public. Other popular IPOs so far this year include the design software company Figma and Circle Internet Group, which issues the USDC stablecoin..
Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison wrested the title of the world’s richest man from longtime holder Elon Musk early Wednesday as stock in his software giant rocketed more than a third in a stunning few minutes of trading. That is according to wealth tracker Bloomberg. A college dropout, the 81-year-old Ellison is now worth $393 billion, Bloomberg says, several billion more than Musk, who had been the world’s richest for four years. The switch in the ranking came after a blockbuster earnings report from Oracle. Forbes still has Musk as the richest, however, valuing his private businesses much higher.
