Google wants users to create chatbots that resemble themselves or are based on celebrities, with whom they can socialize, have conversations, and not just ask questions. The business goal is to expand the user base and generate revenue.
Read MoreThis project shows how Google wants to profit from the entertainment value of generative artificial intelligence. The early success of similar chatbots like Character.AI and Meta shows that there is interest in this new application of AI technology. Google’s spokesperson Justin Burr declined to comment directly on the project and customizable chatbots but diplomatically emphasized: “Google Labs is where we experiment with future AI product ideas—some of which may be integrated into our products at some point, and some may not.” So, in the style of a football saying: “Sometimes it goes in, and sometimes it doesn’t.”
The competition is already making money
Obviously, there is a search for ways to bring artificial intelligence closer to those who have not yet shown interest in this new technology. The business goal is to expand the user base and generate revenue. It also seems that the initial interest generated by the already available chatbot and its followers is waning. At the same time, Google is under pressure to bring AI-powered products to profitability faster and to keep up with rivals like Meta and increasingly aggressive startups.
GOOGLE IS JUST CREATING A COMPETITOR TO META AND CHARACTER.AI, WHICH ALREADY HAVE PRODUCTS AND REVENUE MODELS
The competition already offers various models. The startup Character.AI has a monthly subscription of $9.99 that enables faster interactions with chatbots. Meta, on the other hand, offers free personalized chatbots, but CEO Mark Zuckerberg has hinted to investors about the possibility of inserting ads or charging for premium AI assistants.
A duplicate of Gems?
This Google project differs from Gems, announced in May, which allows subscribers of Gemini Advanced, the paid version of Google’s primary chatbot, to create personas, such as a coding partner or a fitness partner. Ryan Germick, a longtime Google designer and developer known for his work on Google Doodles, leads the project as part of the Google Labs team working on experimental AI products. The project currently involves only about ten Google employees. The chatbot will likely appear on the Google Labs website when the company makes it publicly available.
Google and Character.AI
Google and Character.AI have an interesting history. Two former Google engineers founded the startup in 2021, dissatisfied with Google’s slow pace in launching an internally developed AI chatbot. One of the co-founders of Character.AI, Noam Shazeer, was a pioneer in creating machine learning models that laid the foundation for more advanced software like OpenAI’s GPT models.
