Meta is reportedly developing its own search engine to lessen its dependence on Google and Microsoft. After years of remaining on the sidelines in this area, the technology company is making a significant move, though not in the way many expected. A report claims that Meta has a specific goal for this new project.
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According to The Information, a team of engineers at Meta is working on the search engine. Instead of competing directly with Google or Bing, the company plans to use it for its artificial intelligence chatbot. The goal of Meta’s new search engine is to browse the web and provide conversational responses for users of its AI in applications like WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram.
A source close to the development team revealed that Meta no longer wants to depend on Google and Microsoft for these tasks. The technology company has agreements with both giants, who provide the latest news, sports events, and financial updates from their search engines. Developing its own search engine to support Meta AI would not only allow the company to tailor it to its specific needs but also save millions of dollars in contracts.
Meta Prepares a Search Engine for Its AI
While Meta has not confirmed this news, developing a search engine focused on its AI chatbot makes sense. Language models have advanced significantly since ChatGPT emerged in late 2022.
Companies like OpenAI and Meta use up-to-date datasets for training but cannot access recent news without external help. That’s why OpenAI uses Bing to provide current answers on ChatGPT, while Meta depends on Google and Microsoft to support its smart assistant.
Of all the competitors, Gemini has a slight advantage thanks to Google. By using its search engine to scrape the web and extract relevant information, it is a step ahead, but this won’t last long. Meta has millions of users who access information through Facebook and WhatsApp, so it just needs to develop technology that provides fast and reliable information.
In addition to developing a search engine, the company led by Mark Zuckerberg has signed an agreement with Thomson Reuters to use its content within Meta AI. Users will be able to ask the chatbot about current events, and the AI will respond with a summary of the event along with one or more links to news articles published by Reuters.
