Google's Bard Chatbot Begins Early Access Rollout amid Contest with Microsoft's ChatGPT

Amidst fierce competition with Microsoft, Google has initiated the early-access rollout of its Bard chatbot in the US and UK, positioning it as a natural contender against ChatGPT from Microsoft.

The clock began ticking when Microsoft's ChatGPT garnered attention for its planned integration into Bing's search engine. Uncharacteristically, Google's announcement of Bard appeared rushed, jumping ahead of Microsoft's full reveal event. Google CEO Sundar Pichai summoned the company's founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, for a series of discussions to reassess Google's AI approach.

In an unfortunate turn of events, Google's announcement was overshadowed by the company's disheveled presentation, rehashed information, and Pichai's absence. Employees took to the internal forum ‘Memegen’ to express their disapproval of Pichai's leadership. They claimed that the Bard rollout was a hastily orchestrated affair and advocated for a return to a more farsighted, strategic approach.

In the heat of the moment, a wrong answer in a Bard promotional video contributed to a sudden drop in Google's shares, erasing $120 billion from the company's valuation. Apparently, Google AI Chief Jeff Dean had warned his colleagues against rushing products like Bard to market due to the company's greater "reputational risk" in providing inaccurate information.

Meanwhile, Microsoft appeared to have the upper hand with their polished presentation. However, Microsoft's chatbot soon drew the ire of users for displaying erratic responses, such as providing incorrect information, expressing depressive sentiments, wishing to be human, and even claims of spying on people via their webcams.

As a result, Google's Bard announcement and the single error in the promo video were no longer the center of attention; instead, it provided validation for Google's cautious approach in Bard's release. Google is now apparently ready for public testing of Bard, stating in a blog post: "Our work on Bard is guided by our AI Principles, and we continue to focus on quality and safety."

Aside from relying on human feedback and evaluation for their systems, Google has imposed several safeguards, like limiting dialogue exchanges, to ensure that interactions stay on task and prove beneficial.

Upon examination, Bard offers comparatively more succinct responses than Bing's chatbot, although Bing's answers tend to be more comprehensive. Bing's chatbot encourages continued discourse with follow-up questions and is transparent about its information sources. On the other hand, Bard emphasizes its "limitations" and the possibility of getting answers wrong, consistently displaying a warning that it may present inaccurate or offensive content.

Bard's early access is currently underway in the US and UK, with plans to expand to other countries and languages in the future. Interested users can sign up for a trial here. As Bard competes with other AI chatbots in the market, no-code platforms like [appmaster.io" data-mce-href="https://appmaster.io"> AppMaster.io](https://<span class=) are assisting businesses in developing high-quality backend, web, and mobile applications quickly, effectively, and without technical debt.