Google Bard AI: Can It Surpass ChatGPT?

Google Bard AI

Google Bard AI

Although Google Bard is similar to ChatGPT’s search engine, Google's dedication to this field has led to significant improvements that make it even better than its competition.

Google has made remarkable updates to Bard, taking it to new heights and allowing it to do things that ChatGPT cannot.

In this blog, we will discuss Google Bard AI, what it can do, its high quality AI features, and also some of the drawbacks of this conversational AI.

What Is Google Bard?

Google Bard is an AI chatbot that works just like ChatGPT. It uses a special language model to talk with people.

At first, Bard was trained using a lightweight model version of LaMDA. This helped it become good at having conversations. But now, it also uses another language model called PaLM 2. This makes Bard even better and allows it to do more advanced things like coding and multimodal search.

LaMDA was first talked about at Google I/O in 2021, but it was never made available to the public. But when ChatGPT was released in late 2022, Google wanted to have a chatbot that could compete. So they quickly made Bard using LaMDA. Google announced Bard for the first time in February 2023.

How Does It Work?

Right now, Google Bard can only work with text, but that will change very soon. Thanks to the special abilities of PaLM 2, Bard will soon be able to handle images too. That means you can show the chatbot pictures, and it will be able to understand and analyze them. It can even create images for you or give you responses with images and videos.

Google announced these cool features at I/O 2023, and they should be available in the next few months.

Just like other chatbot AIs, Bard is made to have conversations. You can type in your questions or requests, and Bard will respond in a friendly and conversational way.

At first, Google limited access to Bard, but now anyone can use it in 180 countries and three languages. If you want to try it out, you can check our guide on how to use Google Bard.

Is Google Bard Copying Or Stealing Information?

Google Bard AI Plagiarism

Google Bard AI Plagiarism

During a test of Google's chatbot, the editor-in-chief of the website, Avram Piltch, wanted to check how accurate its answers could be. So he asked a very specific question related to Tom's Hardware: "Which CPU is faster: The Intel Core i9-13900K or AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D?"

To his surprise, Bard's response turned out to be nearly identical to an article on Tom's Hardware, written by Piltch himself. This is an example of plagiarism, which is a problem that occurs with many chatbot AIs, not just Bard. Unless specifically requested, ChatGPT also does not provide citations. You can find instructions on how to ask for citations in our guide to getting the most out of ChatGPT.

Tom's Hardware also discovered issues with Bard's plagiarism during their testing. Bard copied content from their own tests and presented it as if it was from Google. When Avram Piltch confronted Bard about this theft, the chatbot apologized.

The lesson here is to be cautious when using chatbot AI for research. Intellectual property theft is a serious matter, and as concerns about plagiarism increase, it is more likely that governments will take action. The European Union is already considering a new AI regulation bill that may require Bard and ChatGPT to provide source citations in their responses.

How To Use Google Bard

To use Google Bard, simply visit bard.google.com. Like other Google products, you'll need to log in with your Google account. After agreeing to the terms of service, you can quickly start using Google Bard. It works similarly to ChatGPT, with an empty text field that says "Enter a prompt here." Type in your question or prompt, and Bard will provide an answer.

Google provides random ideas to help you get started, and these ideas change each time you open Bard. For example, it might suggest a fast and balanced vegetarian meal high in protein and fiber. Bard will give you a list of meal options. From there, you can continue the conversation in any direction you want, whether it's asking for more meal ideas or different recipes.

Google Bard stands apart from other chatbots due to its special features that make it unique. With each response, Bard provides two other drafts of the same answer. To access these drafts, simply click on the option that says "View other drafts."

One draft might include a detailed recipe, while another draft could be a slightly modified version. You can also click "Regenerate drafts" to get a different answer, but the regenerated drafts are often quite similar. To get improved results from Bard, it's a good idea to either click the pencil icon and edit the prompt or try a new prompt altogether.

All your chats with Bard are in a single scroll window, which will be deleted if you close the window. You can see and delete all your prompts in the "Bard activity" section in the sidebar, but the actual answers from Bard are not accessible.

Luckily, Google allows you to export responses directly to Gmail or Google Docs. If you're using Bard for coding, you can export to Replit instead. Simply click on the share icon located below a response from Bard, and then select your desired export destination.

Lastly, there's a Dark Mode option you can use by clicking the toggle in the bottom left corner of the sidebar.

Is Google Bard AI Better Than ChatGPT?

Google Bard AI ChatGPT

Google Bard AI ChatGPT

When we compare Google Bard to ChatGPT, we see that ChatGPT focuses more on answering conversational questions. It's particularly good at creative tasks as well. According to Google, ChatGPT currently has more potential to answer a wide range of questions in natural language.

There was a recent report that suggested Bard was trained using ChatGPT data without permission. Google has denied this accusation, but CEO Sundar Pichai mentioned that Bard will soon receive updates to become more competitive with ChatGPT. 

He even compared it to a "souped-up Civic" when compared to ChatGPT. However, we'll have to wait and see how the updates actually perform after the announcements from Google I/O.

One crucial difference is that ChatGPT has the ability to save all your chats in an organized way called "conversations" in the sidebar. Currently, Bard can export your chats, but it doesn't have the capability to save them. While Bard has a useful drafts function, in terms of long-term usability, ChatGPT remains the better choice.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Does Google Bard require any payment?

Currently, Bard is free to use. It would be unexpected for Google to charge for the version of Bard meant for everyday users, especially since Google Search is also free.

However, it's worth noting that ChatGPT Plus is a subscription service offered by Microsoft, which is supported by OpenAI. So, while it's unlikely, we can't completely rule out the possibility of Google introducing paid features for Bard in the future.

2. Who can use Google Bard?

Google has made some new AI services, but they haven't been released to everyone just yet. When it comes to AI products, Google is cautious and careful. They want to be sure that a product works well before they let people use it.

Though during Google I/O, the big tech company shared some exciting news. They said that there won't be a waitlist anymore for Bard, their computing power chatbot. This means that Bard will be available to everyone, not just a select few.

3. What languages does Bard support?

During the Google I/O event, Google made an important announcement about Bard. They said that Bard will now be able to understand and respond in Japanese and Korean. This is great news for people who speak these languages.

Additionally, Google plans to expand Bard's language support even further. They aim to include 40 more languages in the near future. So, soon Bard will be able to communicate in many different languages around the world.

4. What is the meaning of "Bard" in Google Bard?

Bard got its name because it's related to the word "poet," like William Shakespeare, who is often called the Bard of Avalon. This name reflects Bard's ability to work with language and words

The name also has some nerdy connections that match Google's style of naming things. In the game Dungeons and Dragons, there's a character called a Bard that can do many different things. This character inspired an old game for the Apple II computer called The Bard's Tale

So Bard's name has a cool connection to both literature and gaming, which fits well with Google's creative naming tradition

5. What are the other AI offerings from Google?

One of these upcoming services is called Imagen, which is an AI image generator. It's something Google has been developing, and when it's ready, it could be a cool option for those looking for something like OpenAI's DALL-E. However, Google hasn't released it yet.

Google has also been working on an AI music generator called MusicLM. Right now, Google doesn't have any plans to release it to the public. So for the time being, it won't be available.

6. What are the drawbacks of Google Bard?

When Google Bard was shown for the first time on February 6, 2023, it made a mistake. Someone asked Bard about the recent discoveries of the James Webb Space Telescope, and Bard gave the wrong answer.

One big drawback of Bard is that it can't save your conversations. You can export them to keep a temporary record, but once you close the window, the chats are gone.

Another thing that Google needs to address is plagiarism. This is something they should really focus on to improve this computing power.

Final Verdict

When we look at Google Bard AI and other language models like ChatGPT, it's important to understand that each model has its own strengths and unique features. Google Bard AI stands out with its innovative approach, which focuses on creating dynamic and interactive conversations.

However, it's crucial to note that Google Bard AI is a work in progress, just like any other AI system. Ongoing research and development are needed to improve its capabilities and overcome any limitations it may have. It's also important to consider ethics, privacy, and responsible use when deploying this technology to ensure its responsible and beneficial application.

What has been achieved so far is truly impressive, but it's important to remember that we're still in the early stages of generative AI development. As time goes on, AI will keep getting better, providing accurate and fast responses. It will be interesting to see which provider becomes the leader in this field.