Technologies

Google Testing Its Own AI Chatbot Answer to ChatGPT

Google is leery of damaging its reputation by releasing a tool that doesn’t work well, a CNBC report says. But we’ll soon see its own AI chat tool.

Google has begun testing an AI chatbot called Apprentice Bard that’s similar to ChatGPT, an online service that in many ways is more useful than Google search, CNBC reported this week.

And we might see it soon. While reporting gloomy fourth-quarter financial results, Chief Executive Sundar Pichai said Google plans to make its own AI language model tools available to the public «in coming weeks and months.»

ChatGPT uses artificial intelligence technology called a large language model, trained on vast swaths of data on the internet. That type of AI model uses a mechanism called a transformer, which Google pioneered. ChatGPT’s success in everything from writing software, passing exams and offering advice, in the style of the King James Bible, on removing a sandwich from a VCR has propelled it into the tech spotlight, even though its results can be misleading or wrong.

Google’s Apprentice Bard tool is similar to ChatGPT, but the company also is testing a question-and-answer format for Google search results, CNBC said. Google Research leader Jeff Dean told employees in a 2022 meeting that Google is being more conservative with its approach to avoid «reputational risk» of AI that offers bad responses.

Google didn’t comment on the specifics of the report, but spokesperson Lily Lin said in a statement, «We have long been focused on developing and deploying AI to improve people’s lives … We continue to test our AI technology internally to make sure it’s helpful and safe, and we look forward to sharing more experiences externally soon.»

AI technology already is all around us, helping in everything from flagging credit card fraud to translating our speech into text messages. The ChatGPT technology has elevated expectations, though, so it’s clear the technology will become more important in our lives one way or another as we rely on digital assistants and online tools.

Google AI subsidiary DeepMind also is involved. Chief Executive Demis Hassabis told Time that his company is considering a 2023 private beta test of an AI chatbot called Sparrow.

Google, which endured bad publicity over the departure of AI researcher Timnit Gebru in 2020, has a program focusing on responsible AI and machine learning, or ML, technology. «Building ML models and products in a responsible and ethical manner is both our core focus and core commitment,» Google Research Vice President Marian Croak said in a January post.

Google is keen to tout its deep AI expertise. ChatGPT triggered a «code red» emergency within Google, according to The New York Times, and drew Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin back into active work.

Editors’ note: CNET is using an AI engine to create some personal finance explainers that are edited and fact-checked by our editors. For more, see this post.

Technologies

Today’s Wordle Hints, Answer and Help for Dec. 9, #1634

Here are hints and the answer for today’s Wordle for Dec. 9, No. 1,634.

Looking for the most recent Wordle answer? Click here for today’s Wordle hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Wordle puzzle is a little tricky. If you need a new starter word, check out our list of which letters show up the most in English words. If you need hints and the answer, read on.

Today’s Wordle hints

Before we show you today’s Wordle answer, we’ll give you some hints. If you don’t want a spoiler, look away now.

Wordle hint No. 1: Repeats

Today’s Wordle answer has no repeated letters.

Wordle hint No. 2: Vowels

Today’s Wordle answer has two vowels.

Wordle hint No. 3: First letter

Today’s Wordle answer begins with S.

Wordle hint No. 4: Last letter

Today’s Wordle answer ends with E.

Wordle hint No. 5: Meaning

Today’s Wordle answer can refer to being insulting or derogatory.

TODAY’S WORDLE ANSWER

Today’s Wordle answer is SNIDE.

Yesterday’s Wordle answer

Yesterday’s Wordle answer, Dec. 8, No. 1633 was GRAVY.

Recent Wordle answers

Dec. 4, No. 1629: TULIP

Dec. 5, No. 1630: AMONG

Dec. 6, No. 1631: WAIST

Dec. 7, No. 1632: FLUTE

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Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Tuesday, Dec. 9

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Dec. 9.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? It’s a tough one today, and might take longer than usual. Read on for the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Apt profession for someone named Rosemary or Ginger
Answer: CHEF

5A clue: Get to go, as leftovers
Answer: BOXUP

7A clue: Word that can precede Bowl or Glue
Answer: SUPER

8A clue: Intense anger
Answer: RAGE

9A clue: «Cut that out!»
Answer: STOP

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Stephen Colbert’s network
Answer: CBS

2D clue: Noted group of 24
Answer: HOURS

3D clue: One living abroad, informally
Answer: EXPAT

4D clue: Spanish for «fire»
Answer: FUEGO

6D clue: Do some kitchen work
Answer: PREP

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Technologies

AI Saves Workers Less Than an Hour Each Day, New OpenAI Report Shows

AI adoption is rapidly expanding across industries, but workers are saving only 40 to 60 minutes per day, on average.

OpenAI’s 2025 ‘The State of Enterprise AI’ report provides an in-depth look at how businesses are using AI tools within real companies. Drawing on anonymized usage data from more than 1 million business customers, along with a survey of 9,000 workers at nearly 100 organizations, the report presents a picture of increased AI adoption and integration in the workplace.

«Across surveyed enterprises, 75% of workers report that using AI at work has improved either the speed or quality of their output,» the report states. Also, the report says that «75% of users report being able to complete new tasks they previously could not perform.»

However, the productivity gains might not be as universal and widespread as anticipated: on average, ChatGPT Enterprise users save less than an hour of time per day, according to the report.

Below is a breakdown of the report’s major findings.

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Report shows productivity gains, but it’s not universal

Despite the hype surrounding AI at work, the latest data from OpenAI suggests that the reality for most employees is modest. In its report, the company says that on average, ChatGPT Enterprise users save only about 40 to 60 minutes per active workday.

That’s not nothing, but it’s nowhere near the sweeping productivity overhaul that many hoped for. In a workday filled with meetings, emails and tool overload, an hour reclaimed can feel like a minimal benefit rather than a tidal shift in productivity.

(Disclosure: Ziff Davis, CNET’s parent company, in April filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.)

A few key findings

The report finds AI adoption within companies is growing fast. Weekly messages in ChatGPT Enterprise have increased nearly eightfold in the past year, and the use of structured workflows, such as custom GPTs, has risen 19 times. Companies are pushing more complex prompts, too, with reasoning-token usage increasing more than 320-fold.

But the outcomes don’t scale at the same rate. Workers say they complete certain tasks more quickly — like IT troubleshooting, campaign creation and coding improvements — yet the day-to-day gains still add up to roughly an hour on average.

A divide between heavy AI users and everyone else

OpenAI’s data shows a widening gap between «frontier» users — defined by OpenAI as those in the 95th percentile of adoption intensity — and the average worker, however.

Frontier employees send about six times more messages than average users. Unsurprisingly, these heavy users report bigger gains of over 10 hours a week. They build workflows around AI, automate routine tasks and turn the tool into a dependable co-worker instead of an occasional assistant. Though arguably, around 2 hours per day of saved time is still relatively moderate.

OpenAI frames the report as a snapshot of where enterprise AI stands today, rather than a final verdict. The company suggests that future gains could come not from the model itself, but from how organizations reshape processes and workflows around it.

But for most workers, AI is still a sidekick. Useful, but not transformative. It helps speed things up. It may even make some work less tedious. But the typical worker saving under an hour a day points to a technology that is powerful, yet still limited. The big question now is whether those numbers will keep climbing, or whether an hour a day is closer to the ceiling than AI enthusiasts want to admit.