Google Declares Internal Code Red as ChatGPT Threatens Search Dominance
Google CEO Sundar Pichai issues a company-wide code red and urges all employees to test the Bard AI chatbot in response to ChatGPT's explosive growth.
Google declares an internal code red as the rapid rise of ChatGPT presents a major threat to the search giant's core business. OpenAI's chatbot reaches 100 million monthly active users in just two months, making it the fastest-growing consumer application in history and prompting urgent action from Google's leadership.
CEO Sundar Pichai addresses the crisis by calling on all employees to test Google's competing AI chatbot, Bard, in a company-wide hackathon style effort. The underlying technology, known as LaMDA, aims to provide natural conversations on endless topics and eventually open up new categories of helpful applications.
Pressure continues to mount on Google as OpenAI simultaneously launches a premium subscription plan called ChatGPT Plus. Pichai emphasizes that the company needs to rigorously test Bard to ensure it meets a high bar for quality, safety, and factual accuracy before releasing it to developers and enterprise customers.