Google is delving into the world of artificial intelligence by developing AI chatbots that resemble celebrities and fictional characters. These chatbots will not only mimic the personalities and responses of these renowned figures but will also serve as templates for users to create their own generative AI chatbots with customized appearances and personalities.
This venture may seem similar to the recently released “customized versions of Gemini”, known as Gems, which can be customized according to the need of users to carry out singular tasks such as coding software or creating fitness regimens.
Google's endeavor appears to draw inspiration from companies like Character.ai, which has been at the forefront of developing custom chatbots based on famous and fictional individuals.
Google's interest in personalized chatbots aptly positions them as potential competitors to Meta's Celebrity AI chatbots. By refining the Gemini family of language models, Google aims to emulate the response styles of specific individuals, much like Meta's offering.
Meta, along with its Celebrity AI chatbots, has also pursued similar goals, creating AI recreations of popular figures like Paris Hilton and Snoop Dogg through official partnerships.
Integration of AI Chatbots on YouTube
Google is thinking about incorporating its generative AI chatbots into YouTube. This integration presents the advantage of allowing prominent YouTube creators to promote the service using their AI personas.
Mr. Beast, a major YouTube star, already embodies an AI-powered chatbot on Meta, showcasing the potential for successful collaborations.
By linking the chatbot service with YouTube personalities and their established pages, Google aims to mitigate the challenges Meta's celebrity chatbots face.
For instance, Snoop Dogg's official Instagram account boasts 87.5 million followers, whereas his AI dungeon master character has a mere 14,600 followers. Paris Hilton, with 26.5 million followers, has an AI detective character with only 13,300 followers. Leveraging the popularity and engagement of YouTube influencers could help Google's chatbots avoid similar levels of disinterest.
Monetizing the AI chatbot service on YouTube is a critical aspect Google must consider. There’s no specific strategy mentioned, but Google will likely explore options that tie monetization to engagement and other YouTube metrics.
The AI chatbot project is being developed by Google's Labs team, led by Ryan Germick, a designer renowned for his work on Google Doodles.
Consisting of ten employees, the team is actively working on various AI experiments, with this customizable chatbot endeavor being one of their prominent initiatives. While an official rollout timeline is yet to be confirmed, it is expected that the chatbot platform will undergo testing on the Google Labs page.