The AI war has just started since Google and OpenAI released their own chatbots—Bard and ChatGPT—vying for supremacy. Both of these chatbots have unique strengths and weaknesses that set them apart from each other. And Google revealed Bard’s new function last week, intensifying the rivalry between these two excellent chatbots. Let’s take a closer look at what distinguishes these chatbots and who wins the Bard V.S. ChatGPT battle, seeing which AI chatbot is better for startups.
Bard: the all-arounder with internet access
When Bard was first published in March 2023, it performed worse than ChatGPT, but the underlying model has since been updated and rolled out.
What is Bard?
Bard is a large language model developed by Google AI. Trained on a massive dataset of text and code. Although Bard is still under development, it has already learned to perform many tasks, such as:
- Provide comprehensive and informative answers to complex questions.
- Create various formats of creative content, such as poems, code, scripts, music, emails, and letters.
What can Bard do?
Bard is a generalist chatbot that is good at multiple tasks. This makes Bard a good choice for users who want a chatbot that can do a little bit of everything. Here is what makes Bard special:
- It has access to the internet and can summarize up-to-date information.
- It can provide images in its responses.
- It can prompt Bard with images as well.
- It can use your voice to prompt Bard.
- You can export your Bard results to Gmail or Docs.
- It supports more than 20 programming languages.
- It supports 40 languages.
- Bard will be available on mobile.
- Bard will also integrate with Spotify, Walmart, Indeed, Uber Eats, Adobe Firefly, and all Google apps, including Gmail.
When to use Google Search and when to use Bard?
Google suggests that traditional Google searches are best for locating and acquiring information, like finding something to purchase. In contrast, Bard is a chatbot with a persona capable of holding human-like conversations. It is designed for creative collaboration, such as generating software code or composing captions for photos.
| Chatbot | Best Use Cases |
| Google Search | Locating and acquiring information, such as product recommendations |
| Bard | Creative collaboration, such as generating software code or composing captions for photos |
Can you use Bard in Hong Kong?
Unfortunately, at present, it is not available in Hong Kong.
But Google has announced that Bard is now accessible in 180 countries and territories without a waitlist. You can use Bard for free at http://bard.google.com if you’re located in certain countries.
How can you use Bard as a startup owner?
We understand the challenges of bootstrapping when you’re a startup owner. Consider using Bard as your go-to assistant for various tasks to save some money. Here are some examples of what Bard can do:
Idea generation
Bard can help you generate new ideas or refine existing ones. Whether you’re looking to create a new product or service or find a new market, Bard can provide you with a list of potential ideas in seconds.
If you’re brainstorming the marketing campaign’s name, ask Bard to do it for you.
Prompt: “Give me ten marketing campaign names about a credit card with a cash rebate offer.”
Here is the result:
- Cash Back Credit Card
- Rebates Galore
- Get Cash Back on Everything
- Save Money with Cash Back
- Cash Back Rewards Card
- Cash Back for Life
- Cash Back on Gas
- Cash Back on Groceries
- Cash Back on Travel
- Cash Back on Everything You Buy
Coding and debugging
If you need help coding your website or app, Bard can help you create a custom solution that meets your needs. Bard has experience with more than 20 programming languages and can help you debug your code and fix any problems.
Run a Google Search
Google Search is trying to provide the information we’re searching for. Still, sometimes the SEO-optimized pages hinder our user experience—it’s hard to get what we want instantly.
And now, Bard can take an extra step for us. You can ask Bard to give you the information or recommendations in a summarized format, so you don’t have to go through the pages yourself. Plus, you can also ask Bard to provide the source to make sure it’s not making it up itself!
Highlights from articles
Prompt: “Can you give me x highlights from this article: URL link.”
Summarizing a text can be time-consuming, but Bard can save you time by condensing the information. Simply give Bard a webpage link, which will give you some highlights as instructed.
Find out some keyword suggestions
Prompt: “Can you give me some SEO-ranking keywords related to the text?”
If you’re a content writer struggling with keyword research, you can outsource the job to Bard. Just give them your text and ask for ranking keyword suggestions. They’ll provide you with a list of keywords to use.
Audit your code
Prompt: “How do I fix the following {programming language} code? {code snippet}”
Bard can assist you in improving your code by proposing improvements. You may offer Bard the code you wish to improve and ask for guidance, and it will assist you with fixing errors in 20+ programming languages.
ChatGPT: the specialist
ChatGPT was released on November 30, 2022. Recently, OpenAI announced the launch of ChatGPT+, a paid version of ChatGPT that offers faster response times, priority access to new features and improvements, and an ad-free experience with a monthly payment of US$20.
What is ChatGPT?
ChatGPT is a chatbot from OpenAI trained on a massive dataset of text and code. It is designed to generate text, translate languages, and write creative content.
What can ChatGPT do?
While ChatGPT may not be as skilled as Bard at answering questions because it doesn’t have access to the internet, it excels at generating creative text formats.
Here is what ChatGPT can do:
- Generate creative text in various formats.
- Hold natural conversations with humans.
- Provide comprehensive and informative answers to open-ended questions.
- Generate diverse creative text formats, such as poems, code, scripts, musical pieces, emails, and letters.
- Translate languages.
So, which chatbot should you choose as a startup owner—Bard or ChatGPT?
If you are looking for a chatbot that can do a little bit of everything, Bard is the best choice. It is a generalist chatbot that is good at a variety of tasks. However, if you are looking for a chatbot that can generate creative text formats, ChatGPT is the best choice. Of course, there’s no winning chatbot because which one fits you better depends on your personal needs and tasks.
| Chatbot | Bard | ChatGPT |
| Price | Free | ChatGPT: Free; ChatGPT Plus: US$20 per month |
| Ease of use | Text, voice, and image input are available | Text input only |
| Release date | March 21, 2023 | November 30, 2022 |
By paying US$20 per month, you can enjoy ChatGPT Plus features, including:
- Access to ChatGPT during peak times
- Faster response times
- Priority access to new features and improvements
- Ad-free experience
Final remark
The AI industry is always changing, and companies need to stay ahead to avoid being left behind. As the saying goes, “adapt or perish.” With technology advancing quickly, we can expect more AI innovations to come, and those who are open to change will thrive in this new era of intelligent machines.
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