I tried Bard- Google's answer to ChatGPT

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AI is mega-popular right now, and when Microsoft released Bing AI, which everyone thought was a huge threat to Google. And here we are, a few months later, with Bard. Let's check it out.

How does Bard compare to ChatGPT?

First off, Bard starts by greeting you, which I think is a nice touch. ChatGPT, however, starts with a clean slate waiting for you to initiate the conversation, although it is kind of cluttered at the same time.

There are also differences in the AI modal used between the two services. ChatGPT uses GPT-3, whereas Bard uses LaMDA, Google's own inhouse AI modal.

Bard is, as it's own intro suggests, creative. ChatGPT isn't super creative out of the box, whereas with Bing AI you can switch between 3 modes; Precise, Normal and Creative. Bard doesn't have those options, and is usually just always creative.

As ChatGPT creates its answer, you can see what it's doing. However, with Bard, it just spits it all out at the end.

With Bard, you can also see all of its drafts, answers it wrote that didn't quite make the cut.

How does Bard lag behind?

Bard is still behind with maturity. Bard is still a young product, and not a lot of people have tested it yet. That means fewer people have clicked the thumbs up or down on answers, which means less feedback, which sometimes means that Bard can't answer tons of questions, and gets more things wrong.

I can't really set that weak point only on Bard, though. At its core Bing AI is, well- Bing. ChatGPT also doesn't have data after 2021.

It's an Experiment

Bard is still very much in testing. It's plastered all over the site. When you first open the chatbot, it says it's an experiment and it might not get it right. Even right beside it's name on the header, it says Experiment. Plastered all over the FAQ, it says Bard is an experiment.

I'm not 100% sure, but I think it's an experiment.

So, what do I think?

I think Bard has serious potential. If Google were to integrate Bard into Google Workspace, it could increase productivity and become a powerful tool for helping people write.

In conclusion, I like Bard more. I think the design is cleaner and I just hope Google lets you put the UI into dark mode in the future.

Thanks a lot for reading!

- Connor