Google is working on creating artificial intelligence-powered chatbots that mimic famous people and fictional characters, according to one report by The information. These AI celebrities, YouTube influencers, and imaginary people will also serve as a template for users to build their own generative AI chatbots with custom personalities and appearance.
At first glance, these chatbots look similar to the recently released Gems, a modified version of the Google Gemini language models. But Gems are designed for a specific task, such as coding software or designing a fitness regimen. The chatbots described in the report focus on mimicking the personalities and reactions of whatever character or celebrity they are based on.
It seems like Google is imitating and trying to surpass companies like Google. Character.ai, an early proponent of custom chatbots based on famous and fictional people. That’s also what Meta and its Celebrity AI chatbots have been aiming for, with their official partnerships producing AI recreations of the likes of Paris Hilton and Snoop Dogg.
Where will they be?
Google could try to integrate its generative AI chatbots through YouTube instead of using them as standalones. The obvious benefit is that popular YouTube creators can promote the service with their own AI personas. That’s what big YouTube star Mr. Beast already does on Meta. Presumably, Google would come up with a monetization method that would link to engagement and other YouTube metrics.
The report doesn’t mention which celebrities Google might use, but by linking it to YouTube personalities and their popular pages, the chatbots could help avoid the disinterest that Meta’s celeb chatbots are facing. For example, Snoop Dogg’s dungeon master only has 14,600 followers on Instagram, compared to 87.5 million followers on the actual Snoop Dogg account. The same goes for Paris Hilton, who has 26.5 million followers compared to her AI detective character’s Instagram page, which has just 13,300 followers.
While there’s no confirmation from Google or an official rollout timeline yet, if you want to be an early adopter of chatting with an AI celebrity clone or an AI version of yourself, you can probably expect to see Google’s customizable chatbot platform on the Google Labs page want to make talk with.