Google has initiated the public release of its chatbot Bard on Tuesday, the company seeks users and their feedback to catch up Microsoft Corp in a fast-moving race for artificial intelligence technology. Consumers have the option to join a wait-list for English-language access to Bard, a program that was previously restricted to approved testers only.
Bard is described by Google as an experiment that enables collaboration with generative AI, a technology that relies on past data to create rather than identify content. The release of generative AI chatbot, ChatGPT from a Microsoft-backed startup, OpenAI, last year, has resulted in a surge in technology industry to make AI more accessible to more users with the objective to transform the way people work and generate profits through this endeavor.
Last week, Google and Microsoft released a series of announcements that they are incorporating draft-writing technology into their word processors and other collaboration software, as well as marketing-related tools for web developers to create their own AI-based applications.
According to early testers, Bard generates blocks of text in a matter of seconds, unlike ChatGPT’s word-for-word answer typing and also has a feature that allowed users to toggle between three different versions or “drafts” of a given answer, as well as a button that said “Google it” in case a user wanted web results for a question.
Nevertheless, accuracy is still a matter of concern. In a promotional video released last month, Bard’s program was shown incorrectly answering a question, which led in reducing Alphabet’s market value by $100 billion.