Google Allowing Users to Register for Access to Bard AI Chatbot

Google today began allowing users to sign up for access to Bard, the search engine’s new AI-powered chatbot rival to Microsoft’s Bing chatbot. Bard is an experimental conversational AI service for Google Search.

If you’re interested in trying out Bard can join a waitlist for access. Google provided a list of functions it says Bard can perform:

• Explain why lightning might strike in the same place twice
• Help you write your first novel
• Draft a packing list for your weekend trip
• Outline a blog post about your summer mocktail recipes
• Explain why large language models might make mistakes
• Generate an art studio tagline
• Suggest high-protein options to add to a vegan diet

Bard beta access is currently limited to the United States and the United Kingdom. Google does not allow Workspace accounts to request an invitation, and there is an unknown waiting period.

Google says Bard is using a “lightweight and optimized version of LaMDA,” which means the chatbot will offer a different experience than the OpenAI-powered Bing chatbot interface.