October 6, 2023
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11 min read
Google’s AI-powered chatbot, Bard AI, was only just recently released in 2023. As such, not many people know the ins and outs of this incredible tool.
In our comprehensive guide, we’ll give you the rundown on all the most important things you need to know Bard AI, including:
Bard AI is Google’s conversational AI chat bot. It’s an experimental tool, similar to services like ChatGPT.
It’s pretty widely accessible, as Bard AI can be used in over 230 countries and territories. It also offers capabilities in languages besides English, too.
The reason why Google named its tool Bard AI is a bit endearing. The name Bard AI is based on its capabilities as a storyteller, like a bard. A bard usually refers to someone who writes poetry, songs, or stories.
Bard AI was released on March 21, 2023. It was first announced earlier that year in February through a press release from Sundar Pichai, Google and Alphabet’s CEO.
This tool became available to those on a waitlist basis on March 21, 2023. Currently, anyone can use Bard AI, so long as they have a personal Google account and are a legal adult (18 years or older).
If you don’t have a Google account, you can create one for free and get access to it.
Bard AI works by using generative AI technology. Although the concept of Bard AI was new, the technology it uses was created two years prior to its release. Google released its Language Model for Dialogue Applications (LaMDA) before the company launched Bard.
Today, Bard AI uses an extremely complex large language model (LLM) — referred to as PaLM 2 — to allow the chat bot to perform even better than before. Compared to the first iteration of Bard AI, the version that uses PaLM 2 is much more efficient and useful.
Google relies on its own “in house” LLMs, LaMDA, and PaLM 2. This is a stark difference from GPT apps like ChatGPT, ChatSonic AI, and Bing Chat, since they all use language models from — you guessed it — the GPT series.
One of the best things about Bard AI is that it’s a conversational model with responses that can be more user friendly. For example, if a user were to prompt the tool by inputting, “What are the best restaurants in Atlanta, Georgia?” it not only gives users a list of quality restaurants, but it also goes a step further and gives more context on why they’re considered the best.
It’s also adept at assisting through follow-up questions, which is a newer function when it comes to these types of models. Other AI apps, such as Yoodli — a speech communication coach that analyzes a user’s speech to help them improve — use AI to generate relevant follow-up questions.
For example, if you use Yoodli to prepare for an upcoming interview, it can ask you intelligent follow-up questions to best help you prepare for and excel at a potential interview. This tool can even flag unconscious bias you might have that you aren’t aware of.
Learn more about this capability below:
With regard to Bard AI, it also allows you to double check responses through fact-checking.
Learning how to use Google Bard AI isn’t as complex as you’d think. It’s very user friendly, even for folks who haven’t experimented with AI or AI chatbots.
In fact, you can use it in a great number of ways. Some examples include using the tool to:
There’s no question about it: Bard AI is an incredibly useful tool. But if you don’t know how to use it properly, or if you feel overwhelmed by all its capabilities, that usefulness is a moot point.
If you’d like to explore this AI chatbot in all its glory, you’re in the right place. Here are seven tips and tricks for using Bard AI to your advantage.
One of the newer tips and tricks for using Bard AI is with regard to image analysis. For example, if you have an image that you’d like more information on, you can share the picture with Bard and it can:
If you’re a student, you could take a picture of your handwritten notes that you took during your biology lecture and ask Bard AI to summarize them for you. For people who travel, you can also ask Google’s AI tool to create an Instagram-worthy caption for your vacation pictures.
Speaking of traveling, Bard AI can also ease your stress and help you plan a trip. There are many ways to go about this. One way is to ask for information on a particular place you’d like to visit (i.e., “Tell me more about [specific destination].”).
You could also ask for itinerary activities based on your destination (i.e., “What are some fun things to do in Okinawa, Japan?”).
It can be tough starting a draft, whether it’s an email for work or a cover letter for a new job potential. Believe it or not, Bard AI can help you compose drafts and the opportunities are endless. Just a few examples of what Bard can help you draft include:
All you have to do is prompt Bard by typing a command like: “Draft a [whatever you’d like to draft].”
Writers’ block — or any creative slump for that matter — can be beyond frustrating. With Bard AI though, you can brainstorm creative ideas for anything you’re interested in.
For example, Bard can help you brainstorm for things like:
If you’re an indecisive person (or just having trouble choosing between a few options), Bard’s got your back. This AI tool can evaluate options, provide context, and help you choose which one would be best for you.
For example, you might ask something like, “Where are the best vegan restaurants in Kentucky?” and Bard AI will let you know the top rated vegan restaurants with context to help you choose. You could also ask something like, “What are the pros and cons of having a microwedding instead of a large wedding?” to help you make the best decision.
For people learning how to code or programmers looking to simplify their process, Bard is a valuable resource. It can help you explain aspects of code and what they mean, for example. You can also use it to get a better idea of what the result of a snippet of code would produce.
For people who need a little extra push or guidance starting a new project or hobby, Bard AI can help. Simply ask the chatbot something like, “What tools do I need to start crocheting?” or “What’s the best way to start learning how to skateboard?” Maybe, you need some tips for how to speak passionately. It all depends on your personal goals.
You could even ask Bard to make you a plan, like: “Make me a 2-week plan for getting started learning Tamil.”
Both Bard AI and ChatGPT are chatbots that use machine learning (i.e., using LLMs) and natural language processing.
The biggest, most significant difference between Bard AI and ChatGPT is that Bard relies on information pulled straight from the internet. Bard can also pull information from other services and apps specific to Google, including things like:
With OpenAI’s ChatGPT, however, the responses you’ll get are only accurate up until 2021. ChatGPT was trained on data up to 2021, so anything that’s happened after that year isn’t in this tool’s capabilities.
Another big difference is that ChatGPT is only available in one language: English. On the other hand, Bard AI offers 40 different languages.
Because AI — particularly generative AI — is such an up-and-coming, exciting area of exploration in tech, there are tons of alternatives to Bard AI.
Here are the five best Bard AI alternatives worth checking out as you explore the chatbot universe.
Similarly to Bard AI, ChatSonic AI uses Google’s search engine to provide users with images or written text. It uses WriteSonic, a text generator that uses AI.
However, unlike Bard AI, ChatSonic AI isn’t free. Instead, you’ll have to pay for a monthly subscription to access all the tools ChatSonic offers, so it’s not as accessible to people.
You.com is a German search engine and created YouChat, an AI chatbot. Similar to other AI chatbots, YouChat can do things like answer any questions you have and give you sources to back up the information, which is very helpful and necessary in the age of misinformation.
This Bard AI alternative is another chatbot powered by AI. However, Jasper Chat has a different target audience: businesses that need brand-specific content. For example, it can help:
Neeva — a German search engine brand — created Neeva AI. This tool has the ability to analyze multiple sources of information and condense them into one cohesive answer. For transparency, Neeva AI also gives users hyperlinks to the sources it cited. Using these sources, Neeva’s tool can also use direct quotes in its responses.
OpenAI and Microsoft partnered to create Microsoft Bing, a true Bard AI competitor. This AI tool will do the same things Bard does, except through Bing search results. So for example, a user can ask Microsoft Bing a question and the AI tool will use the search results to provide an answer.
It also has the same natural language chat function Bard AI does, where users can talk to it like a person.
All things considered, this concept is still relatively new. In fact, many people haven’t even heard of Bard, let alone used it. As such, there are many questions about this AI tool that are still up in the air to some folks.
Here are the top Bard AI FAQs to answer your most commonly asked questions.
Bard AI offers capabilities in 40 different languages, including Arabic, Chinese (simplified and traditional), English, Farsi, French, German, Hindi, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Spanish, Swahili, and Vietnamese.
Some of the other languages you can use include:
In a way, you can conduct a reverse image search on Bard AI. Google added multimodal search in updates released in July 2023, so you can input text as well as images into its search bar.
To offer a multimodal search capability, Google integrated Google Lens directly into Bard. With this option, you can provide the chatbot with an image and the tool can give you more information on the picture.
Bard AI has received some negative feedback from users who reported the chatbot gave them factually incorrect responses.
Perhaps the most famous incident that kicked off this controversy happened at the tool’s launch.
A demo of Bard AI’s capabilities — posted in a Tweet by Google — showed the prompt: “What new discoveries from the James Webb Space Telescope can I tell my 9-year-old about?”
Bard’s response was: “JWST took the very first pictures of a planet outside of our own solar system.”
This, as you might’ve guessed, is a huge fact error, which folks on Twitter were quick to point out. Astronomers in particular highlighted the actual first pictures of a planet outside our solar system, which were taken by an observatory on Earth in 2004. As a consequence, Google’s market value dropped $100 billion the following day.
Other drawbacks to this AI chatbot include that it:
As of 2023, Bard AI is completely free for anyone to use, so long as they’re 18 years or older and have a Google account. There’s also no signs that this will change any time soon.
Google as a brand is known for offering its services for free, and assuming it’ll be integrated into Google’s search engine, it doesn’t look like Google will be charging users in the near future.
Yes, Bard AI can use images in its responses to user prompts. In May 2023, it received updates that allow this capability.
When a user asks a question or prompts Bard AI and an image can add value to its answer, the AI tool will provide pictures to better illustrate its response.
Bard AI is an incredible tool that virtually anyone can use to their advantage. Whether you’re looking for a great vegetarian recipe to get rid of those sprouting potatoes on your counter or you’re searching for the best waterfall spots in South Carolina, this AI tool can provide you with answers and information.
The field of AI is still in its infancy, but there are plenty of other AI-powered resources to check out, from Yoodli to YouChat.
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