Google has announced the global expansion of its conversational generative AI chatbot, Bard, including its availability in India and over 180 other countries. The company made this announcement during its annual developer conference, Google I/O, held at its headquarters in Mountain View, California.
Following its initial launch in the UK and the US, Google has removed the waiting list for Bard and opened access to users worldwide, with a particular focus on expanding its reach to India. In addition to English, Bard can now be used in Japanese and Korean, and Google aims to support 40 languages in the near future.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai said while giving the keynote speech,
Google plans to improve Bard's visibility by integrating Google Lens directly into the chatbot. This integration will allow users to upload photos and prompt Bard to generate funny captions by analyzing the images using Google Lens. The company believes this feature will enhance the user experience and provide creative and quick responses.
Furthermore, Google intends to integrate its existing apps and services, such as Docs, Drive, Gmail, Maps, and more, into the Bard experience. By doing so, users will have seamless access to these tools while using Bard, fostering imagination and curiosity. Additionally, Google will integrate Adobe Firefly, Adobe's creative generative AI models, into Bard, enabling users to transform their ideas into high-quality images for editing or incorporating into designs using Adobe Express.
Google is actively seeking partnerships with various companies and organizations, including Kayak, OpenTable, ZipRecruiter, Instacart, Wolfram, and Khan Academy. These collaborations aim to expand Bard's functionality and provide users with a wider range of services and resources.
Users in India can access Google Bard through the official website, bard.google.com. Although the chatbot is still being tested, users can select the "try Bard" option and agree to the privacy permissions to gain access. Previously, Indian users were unable to join the waitlist for Bard, but now they have the opportunity to explore its capabilities.
It is important to note that, despite its availability, Bard is considered experimental and may have some inaccuracies. Google acknowledges this and advises users to verify information provided by Bard. However, Bard has an advantage over its competitor, OpenAI's ChatGPT, as it can continually update its knowledge with the latest developments. Furthermore, Bard can cite resources if it extracts information from a specific web page, setting it apart from ChatGPT.
Bard offers multiple drafts for a single query, allowing users to choose the most suitable response from different options. In contrast, ChatGPT adopts a more conversational typing style, providing responses in a natural manner. Both platforms are expected to evolve and improve within their respective niches as updates and advancements are introduced.
With the global rollout of Bard, Google aims to provide users worldwide, including India, with an advanced conversational AI chatbot that seamlessly integrates with various services and supports multiple languages. As Bard expands its capabilities and addresses its limitations, it has the potential to become an indispensable tool for users across different countries and cultures.
