XPost: alt.free.newsservers, comp.internet.services.google   
   From: axemen@alphabet.com   
      
   THE SCOOP   
   Google is laying off hundreds of people working on its voice-activated   
   Google Assistant software and eliminating a similar number of roles on its   
   knowledge and information product teams, a Google spokesperson confirmed   
   to Semafor on Wednesday.   
      
   Google told Semafor the restructuring would help improve Google Assistant   
   as it explores integrating newer artificial intelligence technology into   
   its products. The company announced in October that it was using its   
   generative AI chatbot Bard to build a new version of Google Assistant that   
   “extends beyond voice, understands and adapts to you and handles personal   
   tasks in new ways.”   
      
   Google has been making periodic job cuts over the past year, including in   
   its recruiting and news divisions, but it has not conducted company-wide   
   layoffs since last January, when it eliminated approximately 12,000 roles.   
   Its parent Alphabet reported having over 180,000 employees as of September   
   2023.   
      
   Title iconKNOW MORE   
   Google Assistant debuted in 2016 to compete with Amazon’s Alexa and   
   Apple’s Siri, and together, the three voice assistants defined the first   
   wave of mainstream question-and-answer products powered by artificial   
   intelligence.   
      
   Over the past year, large language models — the tech behind OpenAI’s   
   ChatGPT and similar tools — have transformed the market, and tech giants   
   are now figuring out the best ways to integrate them into existing product   
   lines.   
      
   Title iconNOTABLE   
   Google is also planning to restructure its 30,000-person advertising sales   
   department, prompting anxiety about job cuts, The Information reported.   
   The new Bard-idified Google Assistant has yet to be released, but   
   9to5Google has an overview of several new features reportedly coming to   
   Android phones.   
      
   https://www.semafor.com/article/01/10/2024/google-lays-off-hundreds-   
   working-on-its-voice-activated-assistant   
      
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