Google has recently provided limited access to its upcoming conversational AI product, as reported by The Information on September 15th.

This access has been granted to a select number of companies for Google's forthcoming AI product, known as Gemini. Gemini is an advanced AI system featuring a set of large-language models (LLMs) capable of powering chatbots, generating and summarizing text, and even producing code and images.

Initially, Google plans to introduce a restricted version of Gemini, but future iterations are expected to rival and operate at the scale of OpenAI's GPT-4.

Google is expected to make Gemini accessible through Google Cloud Vertex AI, an online platform that offers developers access to various AI models and tools.

While Microsoft has been involved with OpenAI, Google has been increasing its investments in generative AI elsewhere. Notably, in the first half of 2023, Google made investments in other competing AI firms like Anthropic AI and Runway.

It's important to note that Google has not made an official announcement regarding the broader availability of Gemini. The Information's report relies on information from individuals familiar with the matter.

Nonetheless, Google has confirmed the existence of Gemini. Google initially unveiled Gemini in May 2023, and though it stated that the model was still undergoing training, it highlighted its "impressive multimodal capabilities," indicating that Gemini excels at working with various types of input.

Google's Ongoing AI Endeavors

In late August, Google shared updates on several other AI initiatives, including its collaborative AI tool Duet and enhancements to its AI chips, all within its Cloud division. These announcements also included partnerships with well-known companies such as Estee Lauder, FOX Sports, GE Appliance, General Motors, and more.

Google also provides AI services to consumers through Bard, an AI chatbot primarily designed for generating written content. Bard, along with certain other services, is built on Google's current AI model, PaLM 2.

Stay tuned for further developments in Google's AI endeavors.