Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian vowed in a fierce internal speech last month to build the "best capability" in artificial intelligence and rallied employees to keep them committed even as competitors criticized their work.
During an internal town hall, Kurian said competitors were repeatedly disparaging Google's work in the AI space, which may have been a reference to companies like ChatGPT's maker, OpenAI, whose CEO, Sam Altman, called Google a "lethargic search monopoly."
Kurian added that it's still early in the AI race and urged employees to work as a team, as this could be a historic moment in the broader tech landscape.
Here's what Kurian said, according to a recording and transcript of the meeting obtained by Insider:
You are all living in a moment where people are going to look at Google and say, "How did we perform through this period?" There are other companies taking shots at us saying that we are late to market. We've missed the AI boat. They have new products that we don't have. I would tell you this is the very first minute of a new game, and the game is never done in the first minute. The game is done when the game ends. We are committed as an organization to providing the best capability in these markets, and I can promise you that our engineers are going to deliver amazing technology in AI to our customers.
Kurian also called this period "the middle of history" and asked employees to "step forward, work effectively as a team, and make us successful with our customers."
A Google spokesperson didn't respond to a request for comment.
Kurian's comments reflect the urgency with which Google is working in chatbots. The rapid emergence of ChatGPT has put Google in a precarious position, as Microsoft has used OpenAI's technology to bolster its search engine Bing. Google's leadership has issued a "code red" over the rise of ChatGPT, The New York Times reported in December.
In January, Microsoft announced a major investment in OpenAI, and last month, it added ChatGPT's technology to Bing.
Google, meanwhile, unveiled Bard, its own chatbot, last month. Still, its event largely failed to spark the same level of excitement as Microsoft and OpenAI did with ChatGPT.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai has asked employees to commit two to four hours to training Bard, which further indicates the urgency with which it's moving. Some Google employees have internally mocked the Bard announcement and expressed frustration over the added work in testing the AI chatbot, Insider previously reported.
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