Google is making a move to compete with Microsoft’s GitHub Copilot, which also functions like a coding assistant. To prepare for a public launch and take on such competition, the company is asking its employees to test out and give feedback on new features for its chatbot, Bard. This includes generating and fixing code, making it possible for Bard to act like a programming assistant.
Paige Bailey, a product manager of Google’s generative AI work, sent the memo to the staff which outlined the details of the coding capabilities and asked them to test and provide feedback. In the email, some examples were provided to the staff to aid in the process of testing. Google also provided a warning notifying employees not to use the code generated by Bard in production.
Google has made it clear that the features are not officially supported yet and that they are still being iterated on. A Google spokesperson mentioned that it is an important part of the internal culture to include feedback from Googlers as well as external trusted testers in the process of making their products better. Google CEO Sundar Pichai recently reiterated in the public space that these features will eventually come to the chatbot, Bard.
Google is a multinational American company specialized in technology products and services. It started out as a search engine and today holds products like Android OS, web browser (Chrome), online advertising technologies, cloud computing system and hardware like laptops and tablets. The company has made major profits in the tech industry and has expanded its reach in multiple countries. Founder Larry Page and Sergey Brin, who were both doctoral students in Stanford at the time, introduced the concept in 1998.
Paige Bailey is a Product Manager at Google’s PAIR (People + AI Research) division. Prior to joining Google in 2018, she worked as a Developer Advocate and Principal Cloud Developer at Microsoft. Bailey had a leading role in Microsoft’s new artificial intelligence outreach program. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from the University of North Carolina. She has given multiple talks in conferences, written articles and shared her experiences through social media.
