Google Unveils Bard's Latest Upgrades in Bid to Catch Up to ChatGPT

In an effort to bridge the gap with ChatGPT's soaring popularity, Google has made significant enhancements to Bard, its generative artificial intelligence. These upgrades include the ability to fact-check responses and analyze personal Google data, positioning Bard as a formidable competitor in the evolving AI landscape.

ChatGPT, introduced last year with the backing of Microsoft and OpenAI, set off a race among tech companies to offer consumers access to cutting-edge generative AI technology. It quickly became one of the world's top 30 websites, experiencing unprecedented growth. In contrast, Bard struggled to gain the same traction, registering just 13% of ChatGPT's 183 million visits in August, according to Similarweb, a leading web analytics firm.

Google is now rolling out Bard Extensions, a game-changing feature that empowers users to seamlessly import their data from various other Google products. This innovation enables users to instruct Bard to search their Google Drive files or generate summaries of their Gmail inboxes. While currently limited to Google apps, Google has ambitious plans to integrate external applications with Bard, forging partnerships with external companies, as revealed by Google's senior product director, Jack Krawczyk.

Another key enhancement in Bard aims to tackle the persistent issue of inaccurate responses, often referred to as "hallucinations" in generative AI. Bard users will now have the ability to discern which parts of Bard's responses deviate from or align with Google's search results, enhancing transparency and accountability.

Krawczyk emphasizes, "We are presenting Bard in a manner that acknowledges its limitations, promoting trust-building with generative AI by holding Bard accountable for its responses." These proactive measures aim to instill confidence in users and strengthen Bard's standing in the competitive AI landscape.

With these groundbreaking features, Bard is poised to make strides in its quest to catch up with the popularity of ChatGPT. Google's commitment to enhancing Bard's capabilities underscores its dedication to delivering top-notch AI experiences to users worldwide.