Google Assistant is set for a generative AI revamp

Google is preparing to reshape Google Assistant around generative AI, following a similar push by Amazon to bring more AI capabilities to Alexa. An internal email seen by Axios from Google Assistant Vice President Peeyush Ranjan and Director of Product Duke Dukellis outlined plans to explore what a “supercharged Assistant” powered by the latest LLM technology could become.

The message emphasized the “profound potential of generative AI to transform people’s lives” and said some team members have already started adding LLM models to the mobile version of Assistant. Google is also making leadership changes and consolidating teams as part of the shift, with “a small number” of layoffs tied to the restructuring.

Google Assistant was introduced in May 2016, after Amazon’s Alexa and Apple’s Siri. Google also opened its AI chatbot Bard to the public earlier this year, though no timeline was provided for any eventual integration between Bard and Assistant.