Google rolls out Bard, AI chatbot taking on ChatGPT

Google has started rolling out Bard, a new AI chatbot tool that competes directly with ChatGPT.

The tool promises to help users with a variety of tasks, such as outlining and writing essay drafts, planning events, and suggesting meal ideas based on ingredients in the fridge.

Users can join a waitlist to gain access to Bard, which Google says will be a separate, complementary experience to Google Search.

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The tool will be rolled out in the United States and United Kingdom first, with plans to expand to more countries and languages in the future.

The launch of Bard comes as tech companies like Google, Microsoft, and Facebook are racing to develop and deploy AI-powered tools in response to the viral success of ChatGPT.

Last week, Google announced that it would be bringing AI to its productivity tools, including Gmail, Sheets, and Docs, and Microsoft followed suit shortly after.

Bard is built on a large language model, similar to ChatGPT. However, Google’s recent blunder with Bard, where the tool provided an inaccurate response to a question about a telescope, highlighted the challenges of integrating the technology into core products.

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Large language models can perpetuate biases, provide factually incorrect information, and respond in an aggressive manner.

Despite these challenges, Google says it will continue to use human feedback to improve its systems and add new safeguards, such as capping the number of exchanges in a dialogue, to keep interactions helpful and on topic.

OpenAI recently released GPT-4, the next-generation version of the technology that powers ChatGPT and Microsoft’s new Bing browser, with similar safeguards in place.

GPT-4 has stunned users in early tests and demos with its ability to draft lawsuits, pass standardized exams, and build a working website from a hand-drawn sketch.