Google Bard: The Next Generation AI-Powered Search Engine

Google Bard, also known as Google Chat, is an AI robot renowned for its use of advanced artificial intelligence technology. Its purpose is to offer services that simplify everyday life and help users solve problems. Google is dedicated to utilizing AI to develop creative solutions that benefit its users.

Google is in competition with other companies such as Microsoft, which owns the Bing search engine that now includes an artificial intelligence tool, and OpenAI, the company behind the ChatGPT tool, which caused a major sensation upon its launch. These companies are all working towards improving artificial intelligence technologies.

What is Google Bard?

Google Bard, is an AI chatbot that employs natural language processing and machine learning to simulate human-like conversations. Its main objective is to offer realistic replies to user queries, and it can be incorporated into websites, messaging platforms, or applications. Bard has the potential to enrich the user experience by providing natural language interactions that offer a more personalized and engaging experience, in addition to supplementing Google search.

How does Google Bard work?

Google Bard utilizes Google’s Language Model for Dialogue Applications (LaMDA) technology, which is based on the Transformer neural network architecture developed by Google in 2017. Since Transformer was made open source, it has been the foundation for various other generative AI tools such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which is primarily used for creative writing and summarization.

In contrast to ChatGPT, Bard is optimized for natural language queries in search. Bard’s AI is trained to provide conversational responses that are contextually relevant, rather than just presenting a list of answers. It can also handle follow-up questions, a feature not previously seen in search.

Google Bard released?

On February 6, 2023, Google announced Bard with a vague release date, but on March 21, 2023, it began opening access to Bard by inviting users to join a waitlist.
However, during a live demo by Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, Bard gave a very wrong answer to a query, which caused controversy.
In response to the question, “What new discoveries from the James Webb Space Telescope can I tell my 9-year-old about?” Bard responded by saying that the JWST “took the very first pictures of a planet outside of our own solar system.”
This answer was incorrect because the first image of an exoplanet was taken by an earthbound observatory in 2004. Astronomers quickly pointed out the mistake on social media, and the next day, Google lost $100 billion in market value due to the embarrassing error.

Some speculate that Google may have rushed the release of Bard due to the positive press and success of ChatGPT.

Who can I use Google Bard?

To use Bard, users must be at least 18 years old and have a personal Google account. At present, the tool is only accessible in the United States and United Kingdom, but it is expected to become available in other countries in the future.

Update: On Wednesday 10, 2023, Google Bard is available in 180 countries.

Is Google Bard free?

As of now, there is no indication from Google that there will be a fee for using Bard. Google is well-known for offering its services to customers free of charge, except for its cloud computing business. It is widely believed that Bard will be integrated into Google’s primary search engine, indicating that it will be available for free.

Google Bard vs ChatGPT

Both Google Bard and OpenAI’s ChatGPT are chatbots that use large language models (LLMs) to generate and create conversational text using natural language processing and machine learning. However, there are some key differences between these two tools.

Firstly, ChatGPT is based on generative AI, which allows it to produce original content. In contrast, Google Bard is primarily designed to make search more natural and helpful by allowing for more natural language queries.

While both tools aim to provide conversational search results, Microsoft recently signed a deal with OpenAI reportedly worth $10 billion to incorporate ChatGPT into its Bing search engine. This opens the door for other search engines to license ChatGPT, whereas Bard is exclusively designed to support Google.

Another key difference is that ChatGPT’s responses are based on data available up to 2021, while Google Bard is based on up-to-date and current data. This is important for search engine technology, as it must be able to provide up-to-date answers to user queries.

Additionally, OpenAI offers a plagiarism detection tool for educators to prevent students from using ChatGPT for homework assignments. It is unclear whether Google Bard has its own plagiarism detection tool.

Google Bard competitors

ChatGPT is not the first AI chatbot in existence. Other companies have been working on similar chatbot technologies, albeit in less versatile forms, before ChatGPT came into the spotlight. Some startups are developing similar chatbots to compete with Google Bard. Here are some of the competitors Bard may face upon its release:

1- Microsoft Bing
Microsoft is collaborating with OpenAI to offer AI-powered search technology that can recognize natural language queries and provide natural language responses, just like Google’s Bard. When a user performs a search query, they will receive Bing’s standard search results as well as an answer generated by ChatGPT, and they can interact with the AI to refine its response. Bing, integrated with ChatGPT, is currently in its beta testing phase.

2- ChatSonic
ChatSonic is an AI chatbot that offers an alternative to ChatGPT. It is powered by Google Search and features an AI-based text generator called WriteSonic. This allows users to discuss various topics in real-time, creating text or images on the fly. While a test version of the service is available for free, users must pay a monthly fee to access all of the functions. ChatSonic markets itself as having “superpowers” that set it apart from other AI chatbots.

3- Jasper Chat
Jasper Chat is a chatbot copywriting tool that uses AI to generate text aimed at helping companies create brand-relevant content and have conversations with customers. It allows content creators to specify SEO keywords and tone of voice in their prompts, making it easier to customize the generated text to fit their brand.

4- YouChat
You.com, a search engine company based in Germany, offers an AI chatbot called YouChat. In addition to providing answers to users’ queries, YouChat also includes citations for its responses, allowing users to review the source material and fact-check the information provided.

Watch the official video from the Google channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63NfEkYCLz0

That’s all I have on Google Bard for now. When I receive new information, I will update the article.