Google has postponed the release of its next-generation AI chatbot, Gemini, until early next year, according to a new report by Sammobile. The company had initially planned to unveil Gemini in November 2023, but internal testing revealed that the chatbot struggled with certain non-English queries.
Gemini, touted as Google’s most powerful conversational AI to date, was poised to make its debut at a series of events in California, New York, and Washington, D.C.
However, Google CEO Sundar Pichai made the decision to delay the launch after discovering that Gemini’s performance with non-English queries fell short of expectations.
Global language support is crucial for Google’s ambition to position Gemini as a superior alternative to OpenAI’s GPT-4. Until Gemini can demonstrate proficiency in handling non-English queries, Google believes it’s premature to introduce it to the wider market.
Despite the delay, Google remains confident in Gemini’s potential to outpace GPT-4. In private tests, Gemini has reportedly outperformed GPT-4, thanks to its superior computational power.
Google CEO Pichai has emphasized the company’s commitment to delivering a “competitive and state-of-the-art” product with Gemini 1.0.
Google Vice President Sissie Hsiao provided an example of Gemini’s capabilities: “I’ve seen some pretty amazing things. Like, if I’m trying to bake a cake, draw me 3 pictures of the steps to how to ice a three-layer cake, and Gemini will create those images. These are completely novel pictures, not just pictures from the internet.”