How the ChatGPT alternative works

Google offers a new AI-powered chatbot, called Bard, which is designed to complement its search engine rather than replace it.

Now available in over 180 countries without a waitlist, Bard can be used to enter text-based queries, create writing drafts, brainstorm ideas, and generate easy-to-understand summaries of complex topics. Pocket-lint will walk you through how to find and use Bard, plus everything else you need to know about it.

What is Bard, and what can it do?

Google Bard is a ChatGPT alternative. It’s a conversational AI chatbot that uses PaLM 2, a large language model that Google unveiled in 2023 (upgrading its previous models, which have been around longer). It basically generates responses to your queries and prompts. In fact, it can provide a few different responses, which are displayed as drafts for you to refine or use. It is not a search engine, but it can be used to ask general queries and generate ideas.

In fact, Bard can be used for various purposes, including generating writing drafts, brainstorming ideas, and chatting about general topics. Where appropriate, Bard will provide links to resources to provide more information about a topic. You might also see a suggested Google search that you can use to check the response.

After launching without it, Bard can also now respond to coding queries in various languages, opening up a whole raft of new possibilities. Google also announced that it’ll soon be able to generate images from its prompts, using a plug-in with Adobe’s Firefly software, so there’s more to come.

Recently, Google gave Bard the ability to respond to visual prompts. For example, we uploaded a photo of a laptop and asked Bard what it could tell about the image. It said the likely model of the laptop (which was correct) and some specifications of the device. It even provided a little breakdown of who might want this particular laptop and a mini-review in the form of pros and cons. It summarized by saying the laptop is “a bit pricey, but it offers good value for the money.”

Where is Bard available?

Bard is available in many countries, and the list is expanding. Google just recently added support for the entirety of the EU and Brazil. At press time, you can use Bard in most of the world. Specifically, it’s available in the following countries and regions:

If you’re in one of the supported regions, head to its website here and try it for yourself.

What languages does Google Bard support?

Google is adding more languages to Bard over time, but as of press time, many of the world’s most spoken languages are supported. In fact, it supports more than 40 different languages. Here’s the complete list:

How does Bard work?

Requirements

To use Bard, you need a personal Google Account. You can’t use a Google Account that’s managed by a parent, guardian, or Workspace admin. And you must be 18 or over.

Using Bard

Once you have signed in, you can start using Bard to generate ideas, create content, or get quick summaries of complex topics.

1. Go to bard.google.com.
   • If you’re not already signed in, sign in to your Google Account.
2. In the text box at the bottom, enter your question or prompt.
   • For example, you could try asking Bard “Can you give me a quick summary of relativity?”
3. Select Submit.

For some prompts, Bard might generate multiple responses for you to review. At the top right of the response, select View other drafts and select the draft you want to review. If you want to search for more topics related to a response that Bard gave you, below the specific response, simply select “Google it”.

Use an image as a prompt

If you want to use an image with Bard, the process is similar to using a text prompt. Here’s what you do:

1. Go to bard.google.com.
2. Sign in with your Google account if you aren’t already.
3. Click the “+” next to the text box.
4. Click Upload file.
5. Choose an image from your computer.
6. Select submit or press Enter

Editing your prompt

If you want to revise your prompt to Bard, you can edit it, and Bard will regenerate the response. Here’s how:

1. To the right of your prompt, select Edit text.
2. Edit your prompt.
3. Select Update.
4. Check other responses to your prompt

Reset the conversation

At any time, if you want to drop a certain query/prompt and start an entirely new conversation, select Menu at the top left in Bard and then Reset chat.

Manage your Bard activity

You can review your prompts, delete your Bard activity, and turn off Bard activity. Here’s how:

1. Go to bard.google.com.
2. At the top left, select Menu and then Bard Activity.
3. Choose the Bard activity you want to delete.
4. You can choose to delete all activity, some activities, or from a time or date

What languages does Bard support?

Bard is currently available only in US English, Japanese and Korean but Google is working to make Bard available to users who speak other languages.

Does Bard collect your personal data?

When you interact with Bard, Google said it collects your conversations, your general location based on your IP address, your feedback, and usage information. These conversations are kept for up to three years. By default, your Bard activity is saved to your Google Account. But you can pause that. Just go to bard.google.com, select Menu, then Bard Activity, and then the “Bard Activity” card. There, turn off Bard Activity.

What Bard updates are new?

Bard is a pretty living product – Google is adding to it and updating it all the time, from small tweaks to how it attributes sources to bigger moves like upgrading its language model entirely.

Handily, you can always go to the same part of the Bard website to check what’s new – it has a dated list of updates to keep track of what’s changed.

Is Bard free to use?

Yes, Bard is completely free to use and try right now.

How does Bard compare to ChatGPT?

Google’s AI chatbot, Bard, and OpenAI’s ChatGPT are both chat tools designed to give human-like responses, but they have some major differences. Bard can draw responses from the internet and is integrated into Google’s search engine, while ChatGPT’s responses come from its knowledge base, which is limited to information before September 2021. Bard also creates several different versions of every prompt, while ChatGPT only produces one response. ChatGPT can remember previous conversations and create complex code, whereas Bard’s ability to retain context and code is limited for now.

What is ChatGPT, and how does it work?

ChatGPT is an AI-powered chatbot developed by OpenAI, a San Francisco-based research lab. It can respond to prompts and questions with human-like answers and even perform tasks such as writing essays, solving math problems, and even mimicking different voices. ChatGPT uses machine learning and language processing to understand and respond to users in real time. The basic version of ChatGPT is available for free and has become very popular since its launch in late 2022. However, OpenAI recently introduced a paid version, ChatGPT Plus, which offers priority access, faster response times, and other benefits for $20 monthly.

For more about how ChatGPT works, see Pocket-lint’s guides: