Update 18/04/2023: It seems like Samsung (and other OEMs) cannot ditch Google in favour of Microsoft’s Bing. Andreas Proschofsky on Twitter, pointed out that all Android OEMs, including Samsung, have to sign a Mobile Application Distribution Agreement (MADA) if they want to pre-install the Google services, such as Play Store and other Google apps on their phones.
This agreement has specific rules that OEMs need to adhere to. One such rule in MADA mentions that Android phone makers have to make Google Search the default search engine on their phones and satisfy certain placement obligations. In other words, if Samsung wants the Google Play Store on its phones, it will have to provide Google Search by default.
Original Story Below.
Samsung and Google have been in a long running partnership of 12 years where the former has been using the Google Search Engine as the default one on its smartphones. However, this collaboration could come to an end if Google doesn’t hurry up, as Microsoft has now entered the scene to take away Google’s share of the pie.
Google was left in shock last month as Samsung reportedly informed the company that it’s considering making Microsoft’s Bing the default search engine on its smartphones. A report from “The New York Times” says that the Samsung threat put the company in “panic” mode.
The reason behind making this switch, is as you’d have guessed by now, the integration of AI into the Bing search engine by Microsoft. This has already given Microsoft an upper hand over Google in a long time where the former’s search engine is now kore advanced. Google has Bard in place but that AI chatbot is far from being ready to compete with Bing, despite Google’s continuous efforts in making it more advanced.
Read More: ChatGPT’s Potential Risks: Samsung’s Cautionary Tale
The contract from Samsung for keeping Google as default search engine is worth $3 billion in revenue for Google. Furhermore, an additional $20 billion Apple contract is also set to be renewed this year. This shows how Google has to pull up its socks as soon as possible.
The report from the US-basef publication suggests that Google is planning on unveiling a host of new AI-powered Search features that could launch as soon as next month at Google I/O 2023. There’s even a whole new search engine reportedly in the works, but it still has a long way to go before going public.
Read More: Google faces the heat, brings AI features in Gmail, Docs, and more to rival Microsoft
Then there’s another project Google is working on, called “Magi”. Project Magi is Google’s efforts on adding new AI abilities to Search results, image search, and more, while keeping ads intact in search results. These Search updates also include the chatbot’s ability to write code and have a human-like conversation with users, much like ChatGPT.
Google may limit the release of these features to US to about a million users, initially. The number could go up to 30 million users by the end of the year. Apart from these, a Chrome extension called “Searchalong” might also be under development, that could let users ask the chatbot questions while surfing the web through Google’s Chrome browser.
Read More: Is Google Bard a Google Assistant replacement?
Another project called “GIFI,” allow users to generate images in Google Image results. Then, the “Tivoli Tutor” tool might be used to teach users a new language through AI conversations.