Max, the streaming service formerly known as HBO Max, has redesigned its homepage with features designed to foster personalization and help fight search fatigue. Last month Max rolled out “whole page optimization,” with added rows of personalized content across the entire homepage. Since that change went well, according to parent Warner Bros. Discovery, the company is doing more along those lines, emphasizing an algorithm-driven approach to content curation, similar to that used by Netflix. Viewing history and selection patterns now inform recommendations as to which shows, movies or content categories users might like. Continue reading Max Embraces Homepage Personalization After Positive Tests

Microsoft has begun the release of Bing generative search, making it available for “a small percentage of user queries.” The company says it will solicit user feedback and undertake further testing prior to a broader rollout. Google began dabbling in what it called the Search Generative Experience last summer, then upped the ante by adding a search-optimized version of its Gemini model this spring. The journey was not without controversy, something Microsoft will surely try to avoid. Microsoft says its new AI-driven search functionality “combines the foundation of Bing’s search results with the power of large and small language models (LLMs and SLMs).” Continue reading Microsoft Testing Bing Generative Search for User Feedback

San Francisco-based OpenAI revealed it is currently testing SearchGPT, a prototype of new AI search features that provides “fast and timely answers with clear and relevant sources.” The testing arrives as similar technology is made available by leading search services Google and Microsoft Bing. The SearchGPT prototype, featuring a user interface similar to that of OpenAI’s ChatGPT chatbot and virtual assistant, launched last week to a group of 10,000 test users and publishers who will be tapped for feedback. The plan is to iterate an improved version and then integrate SearchGPT directly into ChatGPT, although no timeline was provided. Continue reading OpenAI Begins Testing Prototype of New AI Search Features

Alphabet announced that its revenue was up 14 percent to $84.7 billion in Q2, slightly outperforming expectations. Profits rose 29 percent to $23.6 billion, beating analyst targets by $900 million. Search continued to be a top performer, generating $48.5 billion in the three-month period ending June 30, while Google advertising was up 10.5 percent to $64.6 billion. Google CEO Sundar Pichai said the company’s cloud and generative AI solutions “are being used by more than 2 million developers.” The Google Cloud services unit surpassed the $10 billion quarterly revenue mark for the first time. “We are innovating at every layer of the AI stack,” Pichai added. Continue reading Alphabet Reports Q2 Profits Jump 29 Percent to $23.6 Billion

OpenAI has acquired Rockset, a database firm that provides real-time analytics, indexing and search capabilities. Rockset will help OpenAI enable its customers to better leverage their own data as they build and utilize intelligent applications. Rockset technology will be integrated into the retrieval infrastructure across OpenAI products, with members of Rockset’s San Mateo, California-based team joining the staff of OpenAI, which is headquartered in San Francisco. This is the second major purchase for OpenAI, following last year’s acquisition of New York-based AI design studio Global Illumination. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Continue reading OpenAI to Expand Data Indexing, Analysis with Rockset Tech

MainFunc Inc. has raised $60 million on the strength of its principal technology — a free, AI-powered search engine called Genspark. The platform responds to queries by writing custom summaries that are presented in a “Sparkpage,” a one-page overview featuring content from around the web. Genspark joins a growing field of generative AI search engines, the best-known of which is Perplexity, which has raised $250 million since its 2022 launch and is currently valued at about $2.5 billion. Reuters says Genspark’s funding values the company at $260 million. Google also offers “AI Overviews” as part of Google search. Continue reading Genspark Joins Collection of GenAI-Powered Search Engines

CuspAI, a UK startup that aims to help engineer sustainable materials, has raised $30 million from venture funds in Europe and the U.S., secured a partnership with Meta’s FAIR unit, and employed the advisory services of AI pioneer Geoffrey Hinton in its mission to tackle climate change. “CuspAI leverages cutting-edge generative AI, deep learning, and molecular simulation to streamline the material design process,” the company announced. Its platform “functions like a search engine for materials, allowing users to request specific properties for new materials on demand,” speeding the process of “the discovery of materials with precise functionalities.” Continue reading Green Startup CuspAI Secures $30 Million, Meta Partnership

Meta Platforms has unveiled its first natively multimodal model, Chameleon, which observers say can make it competitive with frontier model firms. Although Chameleon is not yet released, Meta says internal research indicates it outperforms the company’s own Llama 2 in text-only tasks and “matches or exceeds the performance of much larger models” including Google’s Gemini Pro and OpenAI’s GPT-4V in a mixed-modal generation evaluation “where either the prompt or outputs contain mixed sequences of both images and text.” In addition, Meta calls Chameleon’s image generation “non-trivial,” noting that’s “all in a single model.” Continue reading Meta Advances Multimodal Model Architecture with Chameleon

Meta Platforms is testing its own TweetDeck-like app for Threads, the text-and-image focused social network it launched in early July 2023 to rival what was then Twitter (becoming X later that month). The new feature allows test users to pin up to 100 feeds on a homepage and display them on a single screen, making it simple to peruse posts from different follows, recommendation feeds or content propagated through specific topics or keywords. The experimental layout is currently being tested only for Threads on the web. Threads currently has more than 150 million users. Continue reading Threads Tests New Feature That Draws Comparisons to X Pro

Google has infused search with more Gemini AI, adding expanded AI Overviews and more planning and research capabilities. “Ask whatever’s on your mind or whatever you need to get done — from researching to planning to brainstorming — and Google will take care of the legwork” culling from “a knowledge base of billions of facts about people, places and things,” explained Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai at the Google I/O developer conference. AI Overviews will roll out to all U.S. users this week. Coming soon are customizable AI Overview options that can simplify language or add more detail. Continue reading Google Ups AI Quotient with Search-Optimized Gemini Model

OpenAI CTO Mira Murati announced during a live-streamed event today that the company is launching an updated version of its GPT-4 model that powers OpenAI’s popular chatbot. The new flagship AI model, GPT-4o is reportedly “much faster” and offers improved text, voice and vision capabilities. Murati said GPT-4o will be free to all users, while Plus users will enjoy “up to five times the capacity limits” available to free users. According to OpenAI, the new AI model “can respond to audio inputs in as little as 232 milliseconds, with an average of 320 milliseconds, which is similar to human response time in a conversation.” Continue reading OpenAI Unveils Faster AI Model, Desktop Version of ChatGPT

As part of its spring product release, Yelp has added Yelp Assistant, an AI feature designed to connect consumers with relevant business professionals. The chatbot leverages OpenAI language models along with Yelp data to find the right fit and can interactively quiz users to learn more about their project and needs. Available on iOS (with plans for Android later this year), Yelp’s move is part of a trend using artificial intelligence to provide operational help managing households and life tasks. For example, the California-based energy intelligence firm Bidgely is now using AI to generate individualized consumer profiles on energy usage. Continue reading Yelp Assistant Joins Movement to Add AI Consumer Services

Alphabet reported revenue of $80.5 billion for Q1, a 15 percent increase fueled largely by online advertising from Google Search and YouTube. The figure topped analyst estimates of $78.8 billion. Profit soared, rising 57 percent to more than $23.6 billion, wildly overperforming the forecast of $18.9 billion. The strong performance resulted in Alphabet announcing its first ever shareholder dividend, at 20 cents per share, which pays out on June 17. Alphabet’s board approved a $70 billion stock repurchase program, and the news-filled earnings event drove Alphabet shares up 13 percent in after-hours trading. Continue reading Alphabet Profit Up 57 Percent, Prompting First-Ever Dividend

Internet advertising revenues hit a record $225 billion in the U.S. in 2023, a 7.3 percent increase, according to a PwC report for the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB). The connected TV and audio categories saw double-digit growth, as did spending on e-commerce platforms, classified “retail media,” which rose 16.3 percent year-over-year, reaching $43.7 billion in 2023 as key players expanded their ad inventory. Video advertising revenue climbed 10.6 percent year-over-year, to $52.1 billion, with 42 percent of that revenue generated from CTV and OTT streaming. Continue reading IAB: U.S. Digital Advertising Hit Record $225 Billion Last Year

Meta is testing a new large language chatbot, Meta AI, on social platforms in parts of India and Africa. The chatbot was introduced in late 2023, and began testing on U.S. WhatApp users in March. The test is expanding to include more territories and the addition of Instagram and Facebook Messenger. India is reported to be Meta’s largest social market, with more than 500 million Facebook and WhatsApp users, and has big implications as the company scales up its AI plans to compete against OpenAI and others. The Meta AI chatbot answers questions and generates photorealistic images. Continue reading Meta Tests Image-Generating Social Chatbot on Its Platforms