I'd say it is a combination of things, but realize that ChatGPT came out just a few months ago. I would not be surprised if Google catches up within the year. Things are moving extremely fast. It may be that Google has something way bettr than ChatGPT in terms of capability, but they are more conservative regarding safety.

Remember it was OpenAI tech that went off the rails in the Bing chat mode.

Everyone in the industry realizes just how dangerous this stuff is. "Playing with fire" is about as much of an understatement as you could have. Google might just be playing it safe, and prioritizing safety/alignment over capabilities.