Alphabet shares jump 5% after it unveils AI ’snapshots’ for Google Search; market value rises by $56 bn

Shares of Alphabet surged around 5% Wednesday after the company made a slew of announcements on artificial intelligence at its I/O developer conference, leading to an overnight surge of $82 billion in its value.

Google announced that it is rolling out more artificial intelligence for its core search product and also offered a new version of its namesake engine. The revamped Google, called the Search Generative Experience, can craft responses to open-ended queries while retaining its recognizable list of links to the Web.

“We are reimagining all of our core products, including search,” Alphabet's CEO Sundar Pichai said at the event.

Google’s foray into generative AI comes after the startup OpenAI introduced ChatGPT.

Pichai said Google is integrating generative AI into search as well as products such as Gmail, which can create draft messages, and Google Photos, which can make changes to images like centering figures and coloring in empty space.

Meanwhile, Google has now removed the waitlist and opened up access to Bard in more than 180 countries and territories, including India. The tech giant has also made Bard available in Japanese and Korean, and promises to add 40 more languages to the mix.

Read here: Google announces new features for Bard. Here are 5 things to know

Alphabet’s shares rallied 4% on Wednesday, while they have gained 26% so far this year. This is compared to the S&P 500 index’s 8% rise during the same period.

Catch Live Market Updates here

(With inputs from Reuters)