Google is building AI chatbots modeled after celebrities, YouTube influencers
Google is reportedly developing artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots inspired by celebrities and YouTube influencers. These celebrity chatbots will be powered by the tech giant's Gemini family of large language models, as reported by The Information. This initiative follows in the footsteps of startups like Character.ai and companies such as Meta, who have already launched similar products.
Google seeks partnerships for celebrity-inspired AI chatbots
Google is actively seeking collaborations with influencers and celebrities for this project. Additionally, the company is working on a feature that will enable users to create their own chatbots by simply describing their personalities and appearance. This feature mirrors one already offered by Character.ai. Notably, Noam Shazeer, a co-founder of Character.ai and former Google engineer, played a key role in developing "transformers," the technology underpinning today's generative AI.
Google's celebrity chatbot project: Potential partners unknown
The specific celebrities or influencers that Google plans to partner with for this project have not been disclosed. For context, Meta's chatbots are based on personalities such as TikTok star Charli D'Amelio and YouTube sensation Mr. Beast, among others. Character.ai's characters range from politicians to philosophers and even include a talking block of cheese. The project at Google is reportedly being led by Ryan Germick, a longtime executive who works on Google Doodles, along with a team of 10.
Google's celebrity chatbot initiative: An experiment?
Google's celebrity chatbot initiative may be more of an experiment than a broad release product. Reports suggest that these bots might only appear on Google Labs, the company's website for experimental products. The motivation behind Google's venture into this field remains unclear, especially considering that Meta's celebrity-based AI chatbots have not gained significant traction. For instance, Meta's Snoop Dogg chatbot has only 15,000 followers on Instagram compared to the human rapper's 87.5 million followers.
