HeyWhatsNew: Amazon and Google are New Frontier In AI Chatbots Field
In recent years, tech giants like Amazon and Google have shown growing interest in developing advanced chatbots that can revolutionize the way we interact with technology. These efforts are part of a broader movement toward integrating generative AI into consumer applications, to keep users increasingly engaged and satisfied.
Google and customizable Chatbots
Google is working on an innovative project to create customizable chatbots, which can be modeled after celebrities or created directly by users. These chatbots will be similar to the online personalities offered by Meta Platforms and startup Character.AI, based on famous people.
The project, which could launch this year, represents an attempt by Google to leverage advances in generative artificial intelligence to create applications that not only answer questions but can also entertain and interact more humanly with users. This initiative has not been previously reported, highlighting the growing interest of large technology companies in turning AI innovations into practical and engaging tools for the public.
Amazon and the “Metis” Project
At the same time, Amazon is developing a new artificial intelligence service, aiming to compete directly with OpenAI's ChatGPT. The project, known internally by the code name “Metis,” is named after the Greek goddess of wisdom and represents one of Amazon's most ambitious initiatives in the field of artificial intelligence.
Metis is designed to be accessible from a web browser, similar to other AI assistants, and uses an in-house AI model called Olympus, an enhanced version of Amazon's public model, Titan. This new service aims to provide textual and visual answers intelligently and conversationally, with the ability to share links to answer sources, suggest follow-up questions, and generate images.
A different aspect of Metis is the use of a technique called “retrieval-augmented generation” (RAG), which allows the chatbot to retrieve information beyond the original data used to train the model. This allows Metis to provide more up-to-date responses while significantly improving the accuracy and relevance of information compared to other non-RAG-based chatbots.
The advanced features of Metis
Metis not only answers questions but is also designed to function as an AI agent, capable of automating and carrying out complex tasks based on existing data, such as creating travel itineraries or booking flights. This puts it in direct competition with other AI assistants already on the market, such as those from Microsoft and Google, which launched their AI assistants almost two years ago.
While Amazon is a pioneer in cloud computing and has been working on machine learning for years, its AI assistants for consumers have had limited impact so far. For example, Amazon's Titan model is considered less powerful than its rivals, and the Amazon Q chatbot, aimed at enterprise customers, has received mixed reviews.
The involvement of Amazon leaders and the evolution of Alexa
The Metis project is directly overseen by Amazon CEO Andy Jassy and is part of Amazon's Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) team, led by Rohit Prasad, chief scientist and senior vice president. The AGI team is responsible for building Amazon's most ambitious AI models, and VP of AI General Vishal Sharma has direct oversight of the Metis project.
Additionally, many members of the Metis team come from the Alexa AI team, and Metis' technology uses some of the resources found in the updated version of Alexa, internally called “Remarkable Alexa”. This suggests a strong link between the development of Metis and Alexa's existing capabilities.
The race for AI innovation
Amazon aims to launch Metis by September, coinciding with a big Alexa event, though the timing could vary. However, some people within the Metis team believe that Amazon is already late to the AI chatbot game, and it remains to be seen how much the company is willing to invest in the project to effectively compete with the market leaders.
As Google and Amazon continue to push the boundaries of AI innovation, the competition to create smarter, more engaging chatbots intensifies, promising to transform how we interact with technology in our daily lives.
