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Since ChatGPT, the OpenAI chatbot, was born in December 2020, the tech community expected to see a response from Google. On Monday, February 6, 2021, expectations were met and the Californian giant announced the launch of a competitor for ChatGPT: Bard. With power and intelligence that aims to be closer to that of people, this experimental service powered by the LaMDA language model is intended to take search engines to a new level.
A chatbot connected to the Internet
A major difference between ChatGPT and Bard lies in their respective source of information. As ChatGPT shuts down at the end of 2021, Bard will have direct access to the Internet, allowing it to provide users with current, high-quality answers. This functionality will also offer Bard the opportunity to offer comments on news or even simple explanations on complex subjects. In order to ensure that the answers provided by Bard meet the criteria of quality, security and anchoring in the real world, Google will start by giving access to its chatbot to a group of trusted testers. A lighter version of the LaMDA model will then be rolled out to the general public in a few weeks.
Google puts all its AI technology at the service of Bard
Google's interest in artificial intelligence is not new. In 2017, the Californian multinational launched Transformer, a technology that initiated the wave of major language models such as Open AI's GPT-3, support for ChatGPT. Google also acquired DeepMind in 2014, a deep learning startup, to improve its AI products. However, it was only two years ago that LaMDA, the language model on which Bard relies, was developed, but has not been publicly deployed so far.
ChatGPT, a welcome opposition for Google?
While theAI faces criticism for its potential dangers (e.g. stating false facts), it takes on an increasingly important place in society. The issues related to artificial intelligence have therefore never been so highlighted. In this context, competition with ChatGPT represents a good opportunity for Google, which can position itself as a leader in the field.
An opportunity to renew itself for Google
Bard's arrival also represents an excellent opportunity for Google to renew itself. Indeed, the integration of this conversational robot into the search engine will enable the multinational to transform its platform and make it evolve into a system capable of synthesizing information to provide answers to questions for which there is no not a single correct answer. The launch of Bard by Google is an expected response from the Californian company to the success of ChatGPT. Still, that doesn't mean Google is in a defensive posture. On the contrary, the Mountain View giant intends to take the opportunity to renew its search engine and position itself as a leader in the world of technology. It remains to be seen whether the test phase carried out by experts will meet the optimal quality requirements set by Google.
