It was announced by Google on Monday that they are going to launch an AI chatbot known as Bard that is going to be a powerful competitor of ChatGPT. CEO of Google, Sundar Pichai said in the announcement that only the trusted testers will now be able to use Bard and it is going to be available for all in the upcoming weeks. As soon as OpenAI’s ChatGPT was released in December 2022, the popularity of the productive AI tech motivated Google executives to announce a code red and scramble to strive against its own AI technologies. Just like Chatgpt, Bard will ask for details from the web to give new and high-quality answers. A pared-down lightweight version of LaMDA will power Bard. According to Pichai, this LaMDA model needs limited computing power which will be very easy to scale a huge number of users and accumulate their feedback very fast. The testing phase will include external feedback into Google’s internal testing to “meet a high bar for quality, safety, and groundedness in real-world information.”
What is Google Bard?
Google Bard is nothing but an AI chatbot identical to ChatGPT. Just like ChatGPT, it is powered by a language model for making conversations with users. Bard utilizes Language Model for Dialogue Applications (LaMDA) as its model. But for the initial testing phase, it will use a stripped-down version of the massive language model. We want to hear more from Google about the future of its AI projects at a Paris event on 8th February that is going to be simulated on YouTube.
How Does Google Bard Work?
Just like other chatbot AIs, Bard is designed to be chatty which signifies that the users will be able to interact with it by typing a question or request into a text box, and then the AI or Google Bard will answer by using a conversational tone. Suppose, you asked Bard, what discoveries from the James Webb Space Telescope can I tell my 9-year-old about”. Then it will search for the information as per its training and come back with an answer to your query.
What Can You Do With Google Bard?
Now, we do not know everything that Bard can do. But Google has given us some examples:
- We can plan a friend’s baby shower with Bard.
- We can compare two Oscar-nominated movies with Bard.
- We can get lunch ideas based on what’s in our fridge by using Bard.
The capabilities of ChatGPT like the ability to write research papers, poems, or code for a basic website are not there in Google Bard. But it can not be said with a guarantee as Google has not yet disclosed everything that Bard can or can’t do. Not only that, Bard appears to be concentrated on being a tool to augment Google Search, so Google may simply not have it currently set up for functions that don’t directly provide better, more contextual search results.
At this time, Bard AI can only be used by trusted testers. So, you have to wait to use it just like others until you get an invite from Google. Still here is good news. According to Google, AI-powered features are going to appear on Google Search very soon. So, it can be said that we do not need to wait for a long time to test the capabilities of Google Bard.
Is Google Bard Free?
For now, Bard will be free. But Google has not yet confirmed it. It will be very shocking for Google to charge for the consumer-facing version of Bard which means a version for everyday users. But nothing is impossible as we have to buy a subscription plan from OpenAI-backed Microsoft for using ChatGPT Plus.
What is the Difference Between Google Bard and ChatGPT?
At present, the biggest difference between Google Bard and ChatGPT is the language model. ChatGPT uses GPT-3.5, a version of OpenAI’s Generative Pre-trained Transformer language model. It is now available to the public in what OpenAI is referring to as a “research preview.” Google Bard also uses a language model, but its model is called Language Model for Dialogue Applications (LaMDA). But there are subtle differences between how the two models work. The biggest difference between them is that GPT-3.5 stopped being trained in 2021, and hence some of its information is outdated. But it is expected that GPT-4 will come soon with up-to-date training. On the other hand, LaMDA is being constantly trained, so its information could be more precise and up-to-date than what ChatGPT produces. But now Bard is only available to trusted testers. It is expected that public access will be announced in the upcoming weeks.
Will Bard Be Included in Google Search?
It is expected that as soon as Google Bard will be available for the common people, it will be integrated into Google Search. Users will be able to get access to it by asking questions through the search bar, with the chatbot receiving information from the web to offer current answers to text queries. Sunday Pichai has said that Bard will be adept at bringing “information from the web to provide fresh, high-quality responses” and improve our understanding of the information provided through internet search engines. Moreover, using AI-assisted internet search engines will allow information to be modified into knowledge that is adjusted to suit each user. Pichai clarified that the Bard AI-content generator will enable users to promptly comprehend key concepts and expand their knowledge by accessing additional standpoints when they use Google search.
In his blog post he wrote, “Artificial intelligence will make it easier for people to get to the heart of what they’re looking for and get things done.” “When people think of Google, they often think of turning to us for quick factual answers, like “how many keys does a piano have?” But increasingly, people are turning to Google for deeper insights and understanding, like, “is the piano or guitar easier to learn, and how much practice does each need?”
Conclusion
Bard is a testing conversational AI service, powered by LaMDA (Language Model for Dialogue Applications). According to the company, it will now be used by a group of trusted testers before being rolled out to the public in the coming weeks. So now we have to wait to test Google Bard. But it is going to be a strong competitor of ChatGPT.
