Google is stepping up its AI game in a bid to keep pace with the soaring popularity of ChatGPT. On Tuesday, the tech giant announced that its generative artificial intelligence, Bard, will now have fact-checking capabilities and the ability to analyze users’ personal Google data.
This move comes after the tech giant witnessed the rapid rise of ChatGPT, a chatbot developed by Microsoft-backed OpenAI, which became one of the fastest-growing consumer applications and is now among the world’s top 30 websites.
According to website analytics firm Similarweb, Google’s Bard AI received only 13 percent of the visits, garnering a total of 183 million visits, compared to ChatGPT in August.
To bolster Bard’s standing in the highly competitive AI landscape, Google is introducing Bard Extensions, allowing users to import their data from other Google products, such as Google Drive and Gmail. Google also plans to collaborate with external companies to integrate their applications into Bard in the future.
Another key improvement to Bard is its new fact-checking capability. Bard will now display which parts of its answers deviate from and align with Google search results, providing users with a clearer understanding of the AI’s reliability.
Finally, Google is also adding a new feature that allows users to invite others into Bard conversations, enhancing collaboration and interaction within the platform.
These new features are a welcome addition to Bard, and they could help the AI chatbot to gain traction in the market. However, it remains to be seen whether Bard can catch up to ChatGPT, which has already amassed a large and loyal user base.
Analysis
The addition of fact-checking capabilities and user data analysis is a significant step forward for Bard. Fact-checking is essential for building trust in generative AI, as it helps to ensure that the information provided by these models is accurate and reliable. User data analysis can also be beneficial, as it allows Bard to better understand the individual needs and preferences of its users.
The introduction of Bard Extensions is also noteworthy. This feature opens up a wide range of new possibilities for Bard, as it allows users to integrate the AI chatbot with other popular applications. For example, users could use Bard to search their Google Drive files or to summarize their Gmail inbox.
Overall, these new features make Bard a more powerful and versatile AI chatbot. It remains to be seen whether Bard can overtake ChatGPT in the market, but these improvements are a step in the right direction.
