Latest news with #OneBox
The Star
07-05-2025
- Business
- The Star
Google reserves best search data for Gemini, not rival AI apps
Google last year began offering some artificial intelligence firms a way to anchor chatbot responses in its search results, but still reserves key features for its own AI service, Gemini, a company executive testified. Liz Reid, Google's head of search, was describing in court on May 6 how the Alphabet Inc unit handles requests for its data to be used by artificial intelligence models. Google has been pushing back on a proposal by the US Justice Department that the company share much of the data it collects to build its search results. Reid's testimony that Google's current practices favour its own AI service may bolster arguments by antitrust enforcers for a more level playing field. Starting in May 2024, Google began offering a 'grounding' service within Vertex AI, its app developer platform offered by Google Cloud, which allows AI models to check Google's web results as part of generating a response to increase its accuracy. More than a dozen companies now use the service, according to court documents shown in court, though the names were redacted from public display. In response to questions by a government lawyer, Reid acknowledged a disparity between what companies receive when they pay for grounding via Vertex and what Gemini gets as part of the Google family. 'The web results it provides are the same,' Reid said of Vertex AI. But Google 'is providing additional results' to Gemini in the form of search features like the Knowledge Graph, which describes relationships between entities, or the OneBox, which offers instant results to some queries like sports scores or flight information. Reid, who took over as head of search in 2024, has overseen some of the most meaningful changes to Google Search in years, including the rollout of AI Overviews, in which the company uses AI to respond directly to some search queries. Last year, US District Judge Amit Mehta found the company illegally monopolised the online search market. He is currently holding a three-week hearing on what changes he should order to Google's business to remedy the illegal conduct. The Justice Department has asked that Mehta force Google to share much of the data the company collects to build its search results. That would allow AI companies to help develop their own search indices to provide grounding. AI startup Anthropic PBM has requested some additional access to Google's search data for its Claude model, according to the documents, but Reid said she wasn't sure if that has been approved. Google has invested about US$3bil (RM12.71bil) in Anthropic, which also has investment from Inc. Meta Platforms Inc chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg has said publicly that his company's AI models use Google for grounding. Earlier in the trial, an OpenAI executive said the ChatGPT maker approached Google last August about using its search index, but the Alphabet unit declined. During her testimony, Reid said the Justice Department's data-sharing proposal – which she called 'extensive and invasive' – would provide rivals with 'a huge treasure trove of data' that would likely make them the target of hackers. She also estimated that as many as 2,000 Google engineers would be diverted from improving Google's products to compliance issues if the Justice Department's proposal were adopted. Under questioning, Reid acknowledged that she hadn't shared that estimate internally, calling it a 'rough estimate' she created in consultation with Google's legal team on the case. Reid was also critical of the agency's proposal that would allow websites more ability to opt out of Google's AI products. Google already offers websites some opt-out ability, she said, but the granularity of the DOJ's proposal would be 'challenging' to implement because the company doesn't always use different models for each feature. – Bloomberg
Business Times
07-05-2025
- Business
- Business Times
Google reserves best search data for Gemini, not rival AI apps
[WASHINGTON] Google last year began offering some artificial intelligence (AI) firms a way to anchor chatbot responses in its search results, but still reserves key features for its own AI service, Gemini, a company executive testified. Liz Reid, Google's head of search, was describing in court on Tuesday (May 6) how the Alphabet unit handles requests for its data to be used by AI models. Google has been pushing back on a proposal by the US Justice Department (DOJ) that the company share much of the data it collects to build its search results. Reid's testimony that Google's current practices favour its own AI service may bolster arguments by antitrust enforcers for a more level playing field. Starting in May 2024, Google began offering a 'grounding' service within Vertex AI, its app developer platform offered by Google Cloud, which allows AI models to check Google's web results as part of generating a response to increase its accuracy. More than a dozen companies now use the service, according to court documents shown in court, though the names were redacted from public display. In response to questions by a government lawyer, Reid acknowledged a disparity between what companies receive when they pay for grounding via Vertex and what Gemini gets as part of the Google family. 'The web results it provides are the same,' Reid said of Vertex AI. But Google 'is providing additional results' to Gemini in the form of search features such as the Knowledge Graph, which describes relationships between entities, or the OneBox, which offers instant results to some queries such as sports scores or flight information. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up Reid, who took over as head of search in 2024, has overseen some of the most meaningful changes to Google Search in years, including the rollout of AI Overviews, in which the company uses AI to respond directly to some search queries. Last year, US District judge Amit Mehta found the company illegally monopolised the online search market. He is currently holding a three-week hearing on what changes he should order to Google's business to remedy the illegal conduct. The Justice Department has asked that Mehta force Google to share much of the data the company collects to build its search results. That would allow AI companies to help develop their own search indices to provide grounding. AI startup Anthropic PBM has requested some additional access to Google's search data for its Claude model, according to the documents, but Reid said she was not sure if that has been approved. Google has invested about US$3 billion in Anthropic, which also has investment from Meta Platforms chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg has said publicly that his company's AI models use Google for grounding. Earlier in the trial, an OpenAI executive said the ChatGPT maker approached Google last August about using its search index, but the Alphabet unit declined. During her testimony, Reid said the Justice Department's data-sharing proposal – which she called 'extensive and invasive' – would provide rivals with 'a huge treasure trove of data' that would likely make them the target of hackers. She also estimated that as many as 2,000 Google engineers would be diverted from improving Google's products to compliance issues if the Justice Department's proposal were adopted. Under questioning, Reid acknowledged that she had not shared that estimate internally, calling it a 'rough estimate' she created in consultation with Google's legal team on the case. Reid was also critical of the agency's proposal that would allow websites more ability to opt out of Google's AI products. Google already offers websites some opt-out ability, she said, but the granularity of the DOJ's proposal would be 'challenging' to implement because the company does not always use different models for each feature. BLOOMBERG
Bahrain News Gazette
05-05-2025
- Business
- Bahrain News Gazette
Beyon Connect Participates in 2025 Arab Region Postal Leaders Forum in Qatar
Doha: Beyon Connect, a subsidiary of Beyon and a member of the Advisory Committee of the Universal Postal Union (UPU), announced its sponsorship and participation as a keynote speaker at the 2nd Arab Postal Leaders Forum 2025, held from April 29 – 30 in Qatar. According to Bahrain News Agency, the event was organized under the theme 'Accelerating Innovation in the Parcel Market to Achieve Gains in the Age of Electronic Technology' and was attended by representatives from the government sector and postal industry executives from across the Arab region. The forum featured a series of panel discussions, workshops, and presentations over two days. Christian Rasmussen, Chief Executive International Markets at Beyon Connect, delivered a key presentation highlighting the company's solutions, such as OneBox and OneID, which support the digital transformation of postal service systems. Rasmussen participated in a panel discussion titled 'Leveraging AI and Advanced Technology in Postal Operations'. The session focused on how artificial intelligence and other advanced technologies are influencing postal operations by improving efficiency and reducing costs. Rasmussen emphasized Beyon Connect's commitment to supporting the Arab Postal Leaders Forum and engaging in dialogue with sector leaders to advance innovation and digitalisation in postal services. He noted that the company provides secure, scalable digital solutions, such as OneBox and OneID, which are being adopted by institutions in Bahrain and abroad through public-private partnerships, contributing to digital development. Beyon Connect's involvement in this event reinforces its position as a partner in driving digital transformation across the postal services sector in the Middle East and North Africa.
