Expect Google's Answer to ChatGPT AI Chatbot in a Few Weeks, CEO Says - CNET

Google said Thursday that successful coming weeks it will merchandise its reply to ChatGPT, an AI chatbot that's challenging nan company's halfway hunt business. The announcement came arsenic genitor institution Alphabet reported gloomy fourth-quarter financial results.

Alphabet's profit fell by much than a 3rd arsenic nan wider advertisement marketplace contracted complete wide economical concerns. But AI exertion investments stay cardinal to its semipermanent plans, including activity connected ample connection models, an artificial intelligence exertion Google helped pioneer.

"In nan coming weeks and months, we'll make these connection models available, starting with LaMDA, truthful that group tin prosecute straight pinch them," CEO Sundar Pichai said connected a telephone detailing Alphabet's financial results.

Google will attraction connected responsible AI, Pichai said, an important constituent fixed nan problems pinch bias and incorrect answers nan technology  tin produce. He pledged to bring caller AI devices not conscionable to hunt but besides to developers, businesses and Alphabet's ain operations to summation efficiency.

Alphabet reported nett income of $13.6 billion, aliases $1.05 per share, connected gross of $76 cardinal for nan 4th fourth of 2022. Analysts, connected average, expected nan institution to station net of $1.19 per share, according to Yahoo Finance. Alphabet's profit fell 34% compared to past year's results.

"We are going to beryllium bold, responsible and focused," Pichai said. "A patient disregard for nan intolerable has been halfway to our institution civilization from nan very beginning."

Alphabet said it'll return a restructuring complaint of betwixt $1.9 cardinal and $2.3 cardinal successful nan first 4th of 2023 aft January job cuts that deed 12,000 workers.

Alphabet's monolithic Google hunt operations, fueled by ads that look adjacent to hunt results, remains core, but it's only a portion of nan company's advertizing business. Overall, Google's fourth-quarter advertisement gross dropped 2%, from $69.4 cardinal successful 2021 to $67.8 billion.

No portion of Google's advertisement business was untouched. Search ads dropped from $43.3 cardinal to $42.6 billion, YouTube ads dropped from $8.6 cardinal to $8 billion, and Google-placed ads connected different websites dropped from $9.3 cardinal to $8.4 billion.

"Google closed nan twelvemonth successful a very different spot than it was successful this clip past year. For nan 2nd 4th successful a row, Google has missed expert expectations, eking retired conscionable 1% maturation twelvemonth complete year," said Insider Intelligence analyst Evelyn Mitchell. "These results, from a institution arsenic ample and influential arsenic Google, do not bode good for nan remainder of nan integer advertizing industry."

Google's stock fell 4% successful after-hours trading, to $104 per share.

The institution is intelligibly concerned astir nan economical climate. "We person important activity underway to amended each aspects of our costs structure, successful support of our investments successful our highest maturation priorities to present long-term, profitable growth," Alphabet and Google Chief Financial Officer Ruth Porat said successful a statement.

Employee salary is simply a awesome facet successful expenses. Alphabet employment accrued from 156,500 successful nan 4th fourth of 2021 to 190,234 successful 2022. Porat said Google will slow nan complaint of hiring successful 2023.

"Operating expenses were $22.5 billion, up 10%, reflecting an summation successful R&D expenses, chiefly driven by headcount growth, followed by an summation successful G&A expenses, chiefly reflecting an summation successful charges related to accrued ineligible matters," Porat said.

Though Google has thrived financially for years from hunt and different ads, it faces caller competitory challenges. TikTok has drawn video creators and a big audience that mightiness different person stuck pinch YouTube, and nan ChatGPT AI chatbot has shown location are caller ways to hunt for accusation online. In response, Google has elevated Shorts connected YouTube, saying nan characteristic is now up to 50 cardinal regular views, up from 30 cardinal past spring. It's besides integrated much short-form videos into hunt results.

Apart from Shorts, Google is aiming to capitalize connected its NFL Sunday Ticket deal and hopes it'll thief turn nan company's subscription business, whether it beryllium connected YouTube TV aliases arsenic an à la carte deal. Philipp Schindler, Google's main business officer, besides touted opportunities creators will person successful processing some short- and long-form contented astir football.

Google besides faces a Justice Department that is suing nan hunt elephantine complete its power successful online advertising. Google pointed to ineligible spending arsenic a notable facet successful its accrued expenses.

Google itself has been taking accrued austerity measures, cutting backmost connected spending and reportedly putting its moonshot projects nether much profit scrutiny. The institution cut 15% of its workforce from its life sciences arm, Verily, successful January. Chief Executive Sundar Pichai besides asked labor to thief him connected his alleged "simplicity sprint" during an all-hands gathering successful July. He aimed to crowdsource ideas from unit to thief streamline Google's processes. 

With economical and ostentation concerns, Big Tech has trim jobs. In summation to Google's cuts, Microsoft said it's laying disconnected 10,000 workers, Amazon trim 18,000 jobs, and Netflix and Facebook genitor Meta went done layoffs successful 2022.

Even pinch these layoffs, galore specified companies are bigger than they were earlier nan pandemic. Apple seems to beryllium nan only awesome subordinate that's avoided layoffs, though CEO Tim Cook did return a 40% salary cut.

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