Bard (chatbot)
Bard is a text-generating artificial intelligence chatbot developed by Google, designed to compete with ChatGPT. Unlike simple chatbots, Bard leverages advanced generative AI and large language models (LLMs) to provide contextually relevant and conversational responses to user prompts. Initially introduced as a prototype in 2021, Bard was made available to the public in early 2023, following significant testing and adjustments to improve reliability and address biases. It is powered by Google's sophisticated LLM, PaLM 2, which was unveiled in the same year.
Bard allows users to interact through natural language queries, making it easier to conduct searches and get information about current events. One notable feature is its ability to generate multiple drafts of answers, providing users with options for responses. While Bard can access real-time information from the internet, this does not guarantee accuracy, and users are encouraged to verify information independently. Bard is recommended for various tasks, including brainstorming, writing, and coding assistance. It is now available in multiple languages and aims to enhance Google's search capabilities by integrating AI-generated responses into traditional search results.
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Bard (chatbot)
Bard is a free, text-generating artificial intelligence chatbot introduced by Google as a competitor to the popular ChatGPT. Bard can answer any question it is asked as long as the question doesn’t violate its content policies. It is more powerful than Google Assistant but not considered a replacement for that heavily used AI tool.
Background
Chatbots are computer programs designed to mimic human conversation. They have existed since at least the 1960s in the form of ELIZA, named after the literary character Eliza Doolittle. Chatbots have demonstrated skills in everything from writing research papers and poetry to passing tests and offering tax advice. Over the years, new AI technologies such as large language models (LLMs) and generative AI, which allows for rapid generation of new content based on a variety of inputs, have made them infinitely more useful. LLMs are trained to identify patterns across vast troves of text from the internet, books, and other sources. Using that analysis, generative AI can respond to text prompts with written conversation that sounds natural and human.
According to the New York Times, Google has made artificial intelligence its highest priority and has been rushing to ship AI products to market since December 2022. They adopted this business strategy in the wake of competitor Microsoft’s release of ChatGPT in 2022.
Though Google had been testing Bard’s underlying technology since 2015, the unreliability of the generated information and potential biases delayed release for several more years. Bard was first announced at the Google I/O developer conference in 2021 but remained an unreleased prototype until ChatGPT, regarded as the fastest-growing app of all time, was launched in late 2022.
A cautious rollout of Bard came in February 2023, when Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai demonstrated Google’s ability to provide technology similar to OpenAI and Microsoft. Bard initially was made available only via waitlist to limited users and was first powered by the Google LLM LaMDA, the Language Model for Dialogue Applications, introduced in 2021.
The launch was marked by a memorable error. A demonstration provided incorrect information about the James Webb Space Telescope taking the first pictures of a planet outside our own solar system. Negative performance feedback soon followed, including criticisms about failure to answer basic questions, longer wait times than competitors, and non-automatic source inclusion.
At Google I/O 2023, the company announced that Bard, though still experimental, was now open to everyone in 180 countries and territories. Bard next became available in Japanese and Korean and is expected to become available in forty languages.
Bard is powered by Google’s most advanced LLM PaLM 2, unveiled at Google I/O 2023 as a more advanced version of PaLM, released in April 2022. PaLM 2 is said to have fixed some of the initial issues with the chatbot.
Overview
Bard, like ChatGPT, uses generative AI to produce original content but is geared toward search. Its release was seen as an important move in fending off a threat to Google’s lucrative search engine business. Bard is trained on billions of parameters to learn and return answers in conversational language. Users, who must be at least eighteen years old, visit bard.google.com, log in with their Google accounts, and agree to terms of service before using. Like ChatGPT, Bard is mainly an empty text field that seeks a prompt to provide an answer.
Bard uses more natural language queries than keywords to perform searches successfully, with its AI allowing for contextual responses that can help with follow-up questions. A few key features distinguish Bard from other chatbots, including the provision of two other “drafts” of the same answer and containment of all chats within a single scroll window that will get deleted if closed. The option exists to export responses directly to Gmail or Google Docs. A Dark Mode also is available.
As with other chatbots, Bard is recommended for brainstorming, outlining, collaborating, and serving as a jumping-off point for writing. Bard also can write and debug code. Unlike ChatGPT, Bard can access the entire internet, referencing current events and modern context, but that does not guarantee an error-free experience.
A major difference between Bard and ChatGPT is that Bard uses real-time information and can search the internet if asked, while ChatGPT is entirely based on data mostly collected until 2021. Bard users also can click the “Google it” button to get related searches. ChatGPT focuses on conversational questions and answers, masters creative tasks, and can answer more questions in natural language. Tech experts believe AI advancements could make a range of Google products more useful while at the same time helping other companies cut into Google’s huge internet search business.
Other startup companies have been refining similar chatbot technologies, with several potential competitors on the horizon. Among them are Microsoft Bing, intended to recognize natural language queries and provide natural responses; ChatSonic, which has been called a “ChatGPT alternative with superpowers” and has an AI-based text generator, WriteSonic, that allows users to create text or images via real-time discussion; and Jasper Chat, an AI chatbot copywriting tool focused on brand-relevant text generation for companies looking to converse with customers.
Germany-based competitors include YouChat, the AI chatbot from the You.com search engine, which provides citations for users to check information for accuracy. Another chatbot called NeevaAI provides links to cited sources and generates answers using original source quotes and single answers that summarize multiple sources.
According to the New York Times, Google regards Bard as a partner to Google search and will wait to see how people use it before refining the chatbot based on use and feedback. General Google search also has been enhanced for Bard, with the introduction of the Search Generative Experience. Google’s home page still contains its well-recognized search bar, but the difference is in the generated answers. If the new Google detects that it can use generative AI to answer a query, the top of the results page will show the AI-generated response, while the traditional web links will remain below.
Bibliography
Grant, Nico, and Cade Metz. “Google Releases Bard, Its Competitor in the Race to Create A.I. Chatbots.” The New York Times, 21 Mar. 2023, www.nytimes.com/2023/03/21/technology/google-bard-chatbot.html. Accessed 9 Aug. 2023.
Martindale, Jon. “What is Google Bard? Here’s How to Use This ChatGPT Rival.” Digital Trends, 26 June 2023, www.digitaltrends.com/computing/how-to-use-google-bard/. Accessed 9 Aug. 2023.
Ortiz, Sabrina. “What Is Google Bard? Here’s Everything You Need to Know.” ZDNET, 1 June 2023, www.zdnet.com/article/what-is-google-bard-heres-everything-you-need-to-know/. Accessed 9 Aug. 2023.
Patrizio, Andy. “Google Bard.” Tech Target, May 2023, www.techtarget.com/searchenterpriseai/definition/Google-Bard?Offer=abMeterCharCount‗ctrl. Accessed 9 Aug. 2023.
Shankland, Stephen. “You Can Now Try Google’s Bard Chatbot, an Alternative to ChatGPT.” CNET, 12 May 2023, www.cnet.com/tech/computing/you-can-now-try-googles-bard-chatbot-an-alternative-to-chatgpt/. Accessed 9 Aug. 2023.
Tong, Anna. “How Is the New Google AI Search Different from Bard Chatbot?” Reuters, 11 May 2023, www.reuters.com/technology/how-is-new-google-ai-search-different-bard-chatbot-2023-05-10/. Accessed 9 Aug. 2023.