(Photo: by WANG ZHAO/AFP via Getty Images) People visit the booth of Google during the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai on July 6, 2023.
According to Scott Beaumont, head of Google's Asia Pacific division, the company would investigate new markets in the Asia-Pacific area with an emphasis on generative artificial intelligence technology.
Google has released a beta version of its Search Generative Experience (SGE), which uses generative AI technology to improve its internet search engine, reported Nikkei Asia.
Growing Interest in Asia
After rolling out SGE in the U.S. market, Beaumont underlined that Google released SGE in two additional markets: Japan and India. He claimed that the "degree of interest from those two countries has been extremely high" in comparison to other international markets. Beaumont said that "Korea would be high on the list" in terms of AI.
In September, Google celebrated its 25th birthday. The firm, which began as a provider of search engines, today offers six services that are utilized by more than 2 billion people globally, and there are more than 3 billion devices running its Android operating system.
Beaumont said it had been "more convenient in the early days" for Google to introduce services in the U.S. initially before spreading them to Europe. He said that "across a number of products over the last five years, and now particularly with AI, it's not Europe next, it's where in Asia do we go? ... That's a really important shift."
In the Asia-Pacific (APAC) area, Alphabet, the parent company of Google, recorded sales of $47 billion during the fiscal year 2022 that ended in December. APAC sales made up 16 percent of worldwide sales. During the same time period, sales in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa totaled $82 billion, or 29 percent of global sales.
In reference to the APAC market, Beaumont emphasized that "over half of the world's internet population is here" and noted the region's increasing degree of digital penetration as well as the region's economic development. Beaumont concluded by saying that the region has "enormous growth levers" and "the wind is in its sails."
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Increasing Revenue in Asia
According to Beaumont, Google wants to increase its revenue from all avenues in the Asian market, including sales of smartphones, cloud computing services, and traditional web advertising.
The demand from small and midsize businesses is high in the Asian market, according to Beaumont, who noted that generative AI can serve Asia as an "invaluable pinch hitter" or "executive assistant in your pocket." Technology will be used to help significantly increase the productivity of these businesses.
He denied the notion of joining the generative AI industry in mainland China, saying that "we don't have any of our consumer services" for that market.
On the other hand, Beaumont said the company has "numerous hardware partners" in China and that the Android development community there is "very vibrant, very motivated." "I actually like that we've got a group of employees in China because [the group] keeps us as a first-party witness and participant in some of the innovation ... going on in China," he stated.
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