Google may be hesitant to deploy a ChatGPT-like version of its search engine, but Microsoft sees it as a way to better compete.
According to The Information, via Reuters, Microsoft is working with OpenAI to integrate ChatGPT into a version of Bing in the hopes it will prove a greater challenge to Google’s search dominance. OpenAI and Microsoft have a long history of cooperation and partnership, with Microsoft investing in the AI company and gaining exclusive access to some of its technology.
Google has already decided to play it much more cautious, calling ChatGPT and similar technologies a “reputational risk.” Given its dominance in the search industry, Google has to be much more careful about the results it provides.
Read more: How Microsoft Is Outmaneuvering Google
Microsoft clearly believes being second-place in the industry gives it more room to maneuver and take risks that Google is unwilling to take.
The company’s approach is not unlike its approach to gaining Netflix as an advertising customer. While Google played it safe, hesitating to commit to Netflix’s needs, Microsoft showed an almost startup-like aggressiveness and willingness to do whatever was needed to secure the contract.
Should Microsoft’s efforts to integrate ChatGPT into Bing prove successful, it could well be a way for Microsoft to make major headway against Google.