Eliana Willis

When ChatGPT launched in late 2022, the AI chatbot soared in popularity because people were amazed at its ability to respond to any question with conversational and concise answers. However, ChatGPT lacked one major feature — access to current information. AI-powered search engines emerged to fill that gap.Also: The best AI chatbots of 2024: ChatGPT and alternativesWithin months of ChatGPT launching, major search engines, including Google and Bing, infused generative AI (gen AI) into their platforms to offer conversational answers based on up-to-date information found across the internet. Other companies, such as Perplexity AI, also entered the space, building AI search engines from scratch to compete with the search engine giants. With the rise in competition, ChatGPT has even unveiled a web-browsing feature of its own that allows ChatGPT to function as a search engine. AI search engines offer users the same basic service but with significant differences in execution. Some options are more helpful than others, including differences in user interfaces, search results, and suggestions. To help you decide which AI search engine is worth using, ZDNET has tested the best tools we could find and provided notes on key specs and hands-on experiences. Let’s dive in. More

<!–> Most people rely on search engines, specifically Google, to find the most recent information about the world around them, and until now, that process has remained relatively efficient. However, artificial intelligence (AI) and natural language processing (NLP) can make finding what you need even easier.  Also: The obvious reason why I’m not sold on […] More

Nina Raemont/ZDNETWhat’s the deal? The Bose Ultra Open More

The JBL Clip 5 speaker produces a lot of sound for such a small device. JBL/ZDNETWhat’s the deal?Ahead of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, the JBL Clip 5 More

Matthew Miller/ZDNETWhat’s the deal?The Amazfit Balance More

World Central Kitchen/ZDNETIf you wanted to provide food relief to crises around the world, how would you start?Most of us, wanting to do the most good possible, would look at the money we have available and go “OK, how can I make as many meals as humanly possible with what I’ve got?”Reasonable right? You go in thinking that if you minimize the cost of each meal you can feed the most people. This is standard, time-honored resource management at work. It’s about being efficient and getting the most out of what you have. This is how all of our businesses and institutions are organized and run.Also: Six levels of autonomous work: How AI augments, then replacesBut, wait! If you start with the unit cost per meal as your key variable, you’ll probably end up using centralized commissaries (food factories), the cheapest ingredients, and a volunteer meal production workforce. You’ll probably air-lift the meals to a safe place and arrange for them to be handed out to the locals from there.And — this is in no way a criticism — when you start with your resources first and with a high-volume, low-unit-cost mindset, a mindset that’s all about “doing more with less” and economies of scale, that’s the operating model you’ll end up with. You’ll have unintentionally built a silo, an organization that is designed to accumulate resources and then protect and extract the most value from them possible.The thing about silos is — they work. They’re successful (at least for their owners and managers). And they’re easy to implement. Silos are the simplest way to manage resources — centralize and protect. Organizations have done it this way for years — actually, for thousands of years. More

The holiday shopping season is almost here, which means it’s the perfect time to save big on gaming PCs, laptops, and accessories. Retailers like Amazon More

The holidays are just around the corner, and Black Friday and its sweet deals are closer than you think. Now that cable TV is out and streaming is in, many people are subscribing to multiple platforms, and buying the devices that host them, like Rokus, Firesticks, and Chromecasts — all of which can get pricey quickly. Since many streaming platforms have raised their fees in the past few years, finding a good deal for the content you love is essential. Also: The best Black Friday deals available nowLuckily, Black Friday and the entire month leading up to it is the perfect time to hunt for some holiday streaming deals, either for your own home or to gift. (You, too, could go to Roku City, and at a cheaper price than usual.) Our deal-hunting experts at ZDNET have rounded up the best streaming deals ahead of Black Friday so far.Our favorite streaming deals for Black Friday 2024Roku Streaming Stick 4K More