Tech giant Meta is reportedly looking at creating its own AI-powered search engine to reduce its reliance on existing search products, including Google and Microsoft’s Bing.
The new search engine will create conversational AI-generated summaries of recent information and current events and deliver them to users through Meta’s AI chatbot, according to an Oct. 28 report from The Information, which cited an anonymous source familiar with the matter.
According to the source, a dedicated engineering team at Meta has been working for the last eight months to build a database of relevant information for the new search engine.
Meta’s AI chatbot — integrated with the firm’s suite of social media apps, including Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp — currently depends on Google and Bing search engines to answer user questions.
Meta AI chatbot answering user questions. Source: Meta
Meta’s move to launch a proprietary search engine follows similar moves from several other big AI players, including Sam Altman’s OpenAI.
In July, OpenAI unveiled a search engine prototype called “SearchGPT” with plans to integrate the feature into its chatbot ChatGPT.
Similarly, an Oct. 2 report from Bloomberg said that Apple had taken steps toward replacing some elements of Google search functionality with its own AI tools.
More recently, on Oct. 25 Meta announced a multiyear partnership with news agency Reuters to integrate AI-powered chat functions into its platforms, its first foray into news content in several years.
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Meta’s shift toward integrating news with its AI chatbot diverges from its efforts to minimize news and political content across its main platforms.
Following controversies in recent years, including Meta’s discontinuation of its “News Tab” and reduced emphasis on political news post-2020, the tech giant had distanced itself from news-focused features.
Still, the new AI deal hints at a potential return to news in a more controlled capacity, targeting users who seek news actively rather than passively receiving it in their feeds.
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