Google officially launches AI chatbot Bard – to mixed reviews

Luke Meredith

The AI arms race has well and truly kicked off, with Google officially launching Bard, its highly anticipated rival to ChatGPT, the revolutionary AI developed by OpenAI and implemented by Microsoft in Bing’s search function.

Initially, Google has launched limited access to Bard in the US and UK, with users asked to join a waiting list to use the service. The company says the rollout for Bard will be slow, choosing not to disclose when it will be available for wider public access.

Bard has not arrived without controversy, even prior to the chatbot’s launch – Google’s promotional video for the artificial intelligence included examples of Bard failing to provide accurate knowledge, causing huge market value losses for Alphabet, Google’s parent company.

Now, however, eager users have been able to test Bard out for themselves, with the general consensus being that it doesn’t quite match up to ChatGPT’s capabilities. One positive to Bard is that it offers users three different responses to all queries, providing range that ChatGPT doesn’t yet have.

As expected, people have been testing Bard’s limits and been attempting to provoke it into making some humorous, ridiculous and even offensive responses. One user asked Bard to provide reasons for why Google shut the program down. In response, Bard, despite being fully operational, was rather self-critical:

Similarly to ChatGPT, Bard is toeing the line in terms of providing answers to queries that may be deemed offensive, controversial or dangerous. For the most part, however, Google is still said to be behind in the AI arms race, with users generally declaring ChatGPT as the more nuanced and useful chatbot at this moment in time.

Similar to when ChatGPT first emerged, it may be tempting to try and use an AI chatbot such as Bard to produce online content. However, it’s important to stress that Google’s search engine primarily favours helpful, human-produced content. For the best in online written content, speak to our team at Engage Web today.

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Luke Meredith

Content Editor at Engage Web

At home in both the digital sector and the world of communications, Luke thrives on deadlines and has held roles in healthcare, retail and digital marketing, gaining a sound knowledge of a wide range of sectors. He’s a massive swot as well, holding a first-class degree in BA Communication and Media, and now uses his writing skills and keen editorial eye in his role as Content Editor here. Luke helps to oversee our clients’ content requirements, while also looking after a pool of freelance writers across three continents.

Google officially launches AI chatbot Bard – to mixed reviews