According to a report by The New York Times on Sunday, Samsung Electronics Co. is considering the possibility of Microsoft Corp.’s Bing replacing Google as the preselected search service on their devices.
Every company has its vulnerabilities, and even Google is not immune to competition. Microsoft’s Bing is being considered a serious contender after trailing behind Google for years.
The incorporation of OpenAi’s ChatGPT technology into Bing has enhanced its capabilities, making it more intelligent than before. As a result, some companies, including Samsung, are exploring the possibility of replacing Google Search with Bing.
As it stands, Google is the default Search Engine on iPhones and Samsung Galaxy devices, but according to The NewYork Times Samsung is thinking of jumping ship.
According to The NewYork Times, Google employees were shocked to learn about Samsung’s decision and entered panic mode. After all, Google’s contract with Samsung earns it an annual estimated revenue of $3 billion.
And if Samsung goes this route, Apple could very well be next and make it miss out on an estimated annual revenue of $20 billion.
Google hits the panic button, again!
This potential move by Samsung represents the first potential crack in Google’s seemingly impregnable search business and Google is said to have hit the panic button.
According to the New York Times, the corporation is adding new AI elements to its current search engine and plans to create a new AI-powered search engine.
By attempting to anticipate users’ requirements, the new search engine would provide a more personalized experience than the current one.
Google in talks with Samsung over their contract
Samsung is the number one Android smartphone maker in the world and according to the IDC data, the Korean giant shipped 261 million smartphones in 2022 all running Google’s Android software.
However, Samsung has long-established partnerships with both Microsoft and Google, and its devices come preloaded with a library of apps and services from both, such as OneDrive and Google Maps.
It cannot be said for that sure Microsoft’s focus on AI is behind Samsung’s decision to switch to Bing, but that’s what has been assumed at Google.
The contract between the two is under negotiation and it’s likely that Samsung will stick with Google for now.
According to the NYT, Google is eager to retain Samsung and has apparently asked employees to “help put together material for a pitch to Samsung.”
Expect more AI features from Google soon
As reported by the NYT, Google is working on several projects to update and renew its search services to avoid losing ground. Those include adding artificial intelligence features to its existing offerings, under a project named Magi, which has more than 160 people working on it.
Google is “excited about bringing new AI-powered features to search and will share more details soon,” Lara Levin, a Google spokeswoman, said in a statement.
Google is no stranger to large language models (LLMs), which are the foundation of ChatGPT and the chatbot feature in Microsoft’s Bing.
During Google’s earnings call in February, the chief business officer acknowledged that the company has been utilizing LLMs to predict the purpose behind users’ inquiries.
Google is currently introducing its own chatbot search assistant, called Bard, but is proceeding with extreme caution.
