What Is Bard? Your Guide to Google's AI Chatbot

Bard, also known as Gemini since February 2024, is Google's large language model (LLM) chatbot and answer to OpenAI's ChatGPT. Originally released as an experimental service in 2023, Bard allowed Google to bring its AI technology to a general audience and to better meet end users' needs.

The current version of this AI chatbot, Gemini, is available through a mobile app and website. It supports more than 40 languages and integrates with the suite of Google products for a seamless experience [1]. Whether you've been working with AI chatbots since they debuted or are ready to start exploring how you can use them, understanding how Google Bard works can help you find creative ways to incorporate it into your life. 

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What is Google Bard, and how does it work?

Bard is a conversational AI that uses Google's PaLM 2 model, a state-of-the-art AI trained on a comprehensive text and code data set. Designed to mimic how humans communicate, Bard can interpret and reply to your questions in a natural, conversational way. This might involve retrieving information, creating text, translating languages, or summarizing content.

When you ask Bard a question or give it a task, it first analyzes your input to understand the purpose of your question. For example, if you ask Bard for a chicken soup recipe, your search intent is likely to find something to cook for dinner. However, you also have the option to compare recipes if you're looking for a home remedy for a cold. Bard uses its knowledge and capabilities to determine what you want to know and generate a response, which involves identifying patterns, comparing previous responses, and making predictions. 

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Google Bard vs. ChatGPT

Both Bard (now Gemini) and ChatGPT are large language models (LLMs) with similar functions, but the technology powering them gives them key differences that make them useful for different purposes and audiences. Knowing how they compare can help you choose the right model for your project.

They both feature a conversational interface that lets you interact with the AI through questions like you would use when talking to a human. You can use Bard or ChatGPT to handle tasks like summarizing information, brainstorming ideas, and writing in various formats. They offer multi-language support and learn from each interaction they have with users.

Bard and ChatGPT use different technologies (Google's PaLM2 architecture compared to OpenAI's GPT-4 architecture). They also have access to different data sources and feature different integration options. For example, you can ask Bard to search Google apps and services, including Gmail, YouTube, and Drive—a service ChatGPT may not provide.

What does Google Bard do?

Google Bard, now known as Gemini, can assist you with various tasks that require research and analysis. Here are some key things it can do:

• Answer your questions: Ask anything, and Bard will try its best to understand your intent and provide a clear and informative response. It can access and process information through web search to keep its answers current.

• Complete tasks: Bard can assist you with various tasks, such as summarizing information you find online, writing creative text formats based on your instructions (like poems, code, or scripts), or translating languages.

• Enhance your creativity: Feeling stuck on a project? Bard can brainstorm ideas with you or help you develop new approaches to problems.

• Help you work smarter: Bard (now Gemini) can integrate with various Google Apps and services like Gmail, Drive, and Maps (with Bard extensions). This allows it to access your information and automate tasks, helping you be more productive at work.

• Analyze and understand information: When you need to make sense of complex data or a research paper, Bard can analyze information and present you with a clear and concise summary.

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Who uses Google Bard?

Overall, Bard (Gemini) is a helpful tool for anyone who wants to efficiently process information, explore creative ideas, or learn new things. It has a wide range of users due to its versatility in handling tasks and information. Here's how different groups may put this technology to work:

• Students and researchers: Bard can be a valuable tool for students and researchers who need to find information, analyze complex topics, and understand new concepts. It can summarize research papers, translate languages, and even generate creative text formats to explore ideas from different angles.

• Content creators: Writers, bloggers, and marketers can leverage Bard's capabilities to brainstorm ideas, generate outlines, and create drafts for different content formats. It can also help with research and fact-checking.

• Business professionals: From project managers to marketing teams, Bard (Gemini) can be a productivity booster. It can help with tasks like summarizing meeting notes, analyzing data for SEO purposes, and writing basic code snippets. With Bard extensions, it integrates with Google Workspace apps to streamline workflows.

• Anyone seeking information: If you have a question or need to learn something new, Bard can be a great starting point. It can access and process information from the web to provide summaries, answer your questions, and make comparisons.

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Pros and cons of using Google Bard

Bard (Gemini) is a powerful tool that can improve productivity and simplify your work, but knowing its limitations can help you choose how to use it. For example, Bard has access to the internet, which means it can give you current information. Yet, its response is only as accurate as the content it relies on. That's just one factor to keep in mind as you use Bard—you will find more pros and cons below.

Pros:

• Versatility: Bard can handle a wide range of tasks, from answering questions and summarizing information to brainstorming ideas and writing different creative text formats.

• Factual accuracy: Bard prioritizes providing accurate and up-to-date information by leveraging real-time web search capabilities.

• Sourcing: Bard will include sources in some responses, including quotes and pictures that appear in the response.

• Integration with Google apps: Bard can access your information and automate tasks in Gmail, Drive, Maps, and other Google services, boosting productivity.

• Improved creativity: Bard can help you brainstorm new ideas, explore different perspectives, and even generate creative text formats to spark inspiration.

• Free and paid tiers: Bard (Gemini) offers both free and paid tiers, making it accessible to a wide range of users.

Cons:

• Inaccurate information: Bard (Gemini) is still under development, and its responses may not always be perfect. It's important to verify the information it provides before relying on it completely.

• Limited creative control: While Bard can be creative, it may not always capture the exact nuance or style you desire in creative text formats.

• Potential bias: Like any AI model, Bard can reflect biases in its training data. For this reason, it's important to be aware of this possibility and evaluate information critically.

• Security and privacy concerns: As with any AI tool, some users have concerns about data security and privacy. However, Google emphasizes that it protects user information and doesn't use it for anything other than assisting you within the session and training the model.

How to get started using Google Bard

To get started using Google's AI chatbot (now called Gemini), sign into your Google account on the mobile app, website, or the Google app (for iOS users). Once you've accessed Gemini through any of the methods mentioned above, you'll be ready to begin interacting with it. Here's what to do:

1. Enter a prompt: In the prompt box, type in your question or tell Bard what you want it to do. Adding details to make your request more specific helps Bard understand your needs and provide a more helpful response. For example, Bard can help you plan a vegetable garden, but its suggestions should be more useful if you give details about the climate where you live, the time of year, and the location of your garden. 

2. Explore capabilities: As you get comfortable with Bard (Gemini), explore its different capabilities. You can ask it to summarize information you find online, brainstorm creative text formats like poems or code snippets, or translate languages for you. Bard can give you feedback on code or text you've written, assist you with spreadsheets, create outlines, and more.

3. Refine and follow up: If Bard's (Gemini's) initial response isn't exactly what you were looking for, ask follow-up questions or rephrase your prompt. You can also provide additional information to help the model better understand your intent. Your feedback helps the model improve.

4. Verify the information. Google admits that Bard sometimes provides inaccurate information, so it's important to check its answers through reliable sources. You may also discover that it leaves out details that affect the accuracy and value of the response.

Getting started with Coursera

Although Google Bard now operates under the Gemini name, this AI chatbot can still be a valuable tool to boost productivity at work. By summarizing information, brainstorming ideas, and even writing code, Gemini can assist you with various tasks and help you find information more efficiently.

To learn more about artificial intelligence, consider IBM's AI Foundations for Everyone Specialization on Coursera. This four-course series covers topics like artificial intelligence, generative AI, prompting engineering basics, and more. Upon completion, gain a shareable Professional Certificate to include in your resume, CV, or LinkedIn profile.