Google plans to update its Google Assistant to focus on using generative AI technologies similar to those behind ChatGPT and the Bard chatbot. This is stated in the company’s internal e-mail, Axios writes.

“As a team, we must focus on delivering a high-quality, mission-critical product experience for our users. We also saw the huge potential of generative artificial intelligence to transform people’s lives and see a huge opportunity to explore what a super-powered Assistant based on LLM’s latest technologies would look like”, the letter says.

According to the company, some work on updating the assistant has already started with the mobile version of the product. As part of this move, the company is reorganizing the teams working on Google Assistant.

Due to the changes, a certain number of firings is expected. It is assumed that dozens of jobs out of thousands of employees working on Google Assistant are expected to be eliminated.

“We remain deeply committed to Assistant and we are optimistic about its bright future ahead,” Google Vice President Piyush Ranjan and Chief Product Officer Duke Dukellis said in the letter.

In the period from 2016 to 2021, Google Assistant was released in the form of eight “smart” speakers and displays. The last such gadget was released in March 2021. But last year was a failure for the assistant.