Meta developing AI-powered search engine to take on Google, Microsoft
What's the story
Meta is said to be working on an AI-powered search engine. The move is part of the company's effort to reduce its dependence on Google and Microsoft. According to The Information, the upcoming search engine will offer AI-generated summaries of current events within the Meta AI chatbot. At present, the Instagram and Facebook-embedded chatbot relies on Google and Microsoft Bing to respond to queries about recent news and events.
Progress
A look at the project
Meta's web crawler was spotted online months ago, suggesting the company is making progress with the search engine. A team has been working relentlessly for some eight months to build a database for the chatbot. Ultimately, the idea is to integrate these indexes into Meta AI, giving the chatbot an alternative to Google Search and Microsoft Bing. The search engine project is said to be led by senior engineering manager Xueyuan Su.
Tech disclosure
Web crawler technology and user base
Earlier this year, Meta publicly disclosed its web crawler technology, saying it was for "training AI models or improving products." However, the company didn't explicitly say it was creating a search backend. In August, CEO Mark Zuckerberg revealed on Threads that Meta AI has over 185 million weekly active users and over 400 million monthly active users. He highlighted the platform's rapid growth despite not being launched in the UK, Brazil, or EU, yet.
Reason
Zuckerberg wants Meta to be autonomous
As per The Information, Zuckerberg wants Meta to be as autonomous as possible, so that it won't be affected if Google or Microsoft decides to cut off its access to web searches. It is unclear whether Meta pays either firm for such access.