4 New Announcements Google Made In A Week In the past week, tech giant Google has not only been the platform to check e-news but has been rolling out announcements of its own. Although the platform is known to be forever evolving with the times, the pace and diversity of the work has caught our attention. Here are four unique announcements from Google.

By Kavya Pillai

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Pawel Czerwinski

In the past week, tech giant Google has not only been the platform to check e-news but has been rolling out announcements of its own. Although the platform is known to be forever evolving with the times, the pace and diversity of the work has caught our attention. Here are four unique announcements from Google.

1. New AI

Google has announced new AI-powered features for more effective implementation of the project. "We're excited to share that early numbers indicate a potential for up to 30% reduction in stops and up to 10% reduction in emissions at intersections," said Yossi Matias, vice president, engineering and research, Google. According to Matias, Green Light is now live in 70 intersections in 12 cities from Haifa to Rio de Janeiro to Bangalore. The company uses AI and Google Maps driving trends to model traffic patterns and make recommendations for optimising the existing traffic light plans. According to Google, it takes less than five minutes for city engineers to implement it.

2. Bard For Smartphones

The tech giant said that this feature will combine "Bard's generative and reasoning capabilities with Assistant's personalized help." Google Assistant with Bard was introduced with the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro. Now, the feature is expected to extend to more smartphones. The next phase, which will arrive in the coming months will also be an "opt-in experience." Rumours suggest that this may roll out as a part of Google Labs like the Search Generative Experience (SGE). The report suggests that Pixel 8 series smartphones might be the first devices to get the feature. Then, Assistant with Bard is likely to arrive in the Galaxy S24 lineup in 2024. After that, the feature is expected to come to older Tensor-based Pixels and the Samsung Galaxy S23 series before it becomes more widely available.

3. Flood Hub

Google recently introduced various AI-powered sustainability feature for its users. One such feature is Flood Hub, which the tech giant has rolled out for users in the US.In 2018, Google initiated the provision of real-time flooding updates utilising AI and geospatial analysis. Presently, Google is extending its Flood Hub riverine flood predictions to cover the United States and Canada. "Floods are the most common natural disaster, causing thousands of fatalities and disrupting the lives of millions every year. Our real-time flood forecasts and visualizations are available on the Flood Hub platform and, in many cases, also on Search and Maps," said Google. Google also mentioned that this feature covers more than 800 locations by rivers where more than 12 million people live.

4. Google Search

Google is taking a different approach in offering AI-generated search results, powered by its Bard. The search engine giant has now started testing a new layout that's less intrusive, which is currently available to select users. According to a tweet by Glenn Gabe, the 'SGE Lite' (Search Generative Experience) will not trigger a large block by default and will show more buttons for users who like to access additional information. Google recently started offering a generative AI capability called SGE, similar to the GPT-4 powered new Bing as part of an early access experiment. When enabled, Google will offer specific responses to user queries. However, this would take up a large block of the browser by default, affecting publishers.

Kavya Pillai

Former Correspondent

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