Google unveils 'magic wand' for drafting documents as AI race heats up

Alphabet Inc Google on Tuesday unveiled a range of artificial intelligence tools for its email, collaborative and cloud software services, days before a similar announcement is expected by rival Microsoft.

In a rejuvenation of the rivalry between the two tech giants, each unveiling a chatbot last month, Alphabet called its popular Google Docs software a "magic wand," which can craft a marketing blog, training plan or other script and then review its style at users' discretion, a company official told reporters.

Meanwhile, Microsoft announced an event on Thursday on the extent of "innovation in generative artificial intelligence," during which it is expected to unveil rival document processor Word.

Alphabet also said its new AI tool will be able to summarize message topics in the Gmail email service, craft slide presentations, personalize communication with customers and take meeting notes as part of its update to Google WorkSpace, a suite of products with billions of users on free and paid accounts.

The developments reflect how the chatGPT chatbot spurred a race in Silicon Valley to feed products with so-called generative artificial intelligence, which learns from previous data how to create content anew just like a chatbot does.