Google ‘racing’ to build new AI tools for Search, NYT says

The project comes as Google faces strong competition from competitor Bing. — Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg

Alphabet Inc. is working to build a new search engine and add artificial intelligence features to its existing offerings amid the rapid advancements in the field from competitors like Microsoft’s Corp.’s Bing, the New York Times reported Sunday.

The Mountain View, California-based company and search engine giant is testing the new features under the project name Magi, the Times reported, and the new product would try to anticipate users’ needs. More than 160 people are working on it, with initial plans to release the features to as many as one million people in the US and increase to 30 million by the end of the year.