[Software] Hands on: Google Bard - our first impressions of the ChatGPT rival

[Blackfire]

• Google's Bard AI-powered chatbot is finally here, with a much more welcoming interface that will appeal to a lot of people, no matter how technically proficient they are. It has some nice quality-of-life improvements over other chatbots, such as previewing drafts, but a lack of clarity over sources means it's less reliable than Bing.
• Google Bard, the search giant's answer to ChatGPT, is finally here. But was it worth the wait? And how does it compare to the many other AI chatbots springing up all over the web?

• Well, the first one is easy to answer. Based on our initial impressions, Google's decision to hold it back until it was properly ready for human consumption was a good one. After all, Bard had a less-than-impressive debut, returning an incorrect answer to a question during its launch. 

  The second one is much harder - and we won't pretend we can fully judge it against Microsoft's ChatGPT-powered Bing until we've spent more time with it.

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  However, several things are immediately apparent within seconds of using it - including just how nicely designed it is, and how fast it is; sometimes scarily so.
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• Off the bat, the user interface (UI) of Google Bard surpasses ChatGPT’s dark and dreary layout. The UI is bright and carries the Google motif we’ve grown accustomed to. Everything feels reassuringly familiar, despite the fact you’re interacting with a completely new product. 

  The layout is clean and you're met with a bunch of new features, such as the option to speak to Google Bard (though you still must hit enter) and the ability to see all the different drafts Bard considered before returning your first response. 

   

   

  

• You can edit the text of questions already asked and restart the conversation from any point, and depending on your prompts or questions, a little button shows up underneath Bard’s response that lets you Google the response and see if there are any related searches. 

  Overall, we’re looking at a slick and sophisticated user interface that screams polished, poised and ready to go. 

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• In terms of performance, it’s hard not to be blown away by Bard. 

  As soon as you enter the chat you’re greeted with a helpful and rather endearing introduction from Bard (an incredibly sweet name, Google). It admits it won’t get everything right and welcomes feedback, before giving you a revolving list of potential questions. 

  Bard’s tone of voice and temperament is strikingly human and incredibly easy to talk to; you feel like you're chatting with a friendly face. It’s unassuming and charming, incredibly helpful, and always ready to apologize and admit its failings. The chatbot seems just as excited to talk to you as you are to talk to it.

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  In comparison to other chatbot models such as Bing AI and ChatGPT, the response time between putting in a prompt and having the bot respond is astoundingly fast. Bard was quick to respond no matter the nature of the prompt, whether we were asking it how it was trained and the different ways we can interact with it - did someone say Alexa integration? - or asking it to write a review of a product that doesn’t exist..

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  We asked Bard to write a review for a makeup product that doesn't exist and we're pretty amused by the response and kind of wish the Flimmery was a real thing. It's pretty remarkable how much it was able to spawn out of our brief prompt and fill in the gaps for the imaginary product.

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  Whereas other chatbots let you sit and watch the bot ‘think’ of a response, Bard spits out lengthy answers in a blink. We’re very excited to chat with Bard more and see what else it can do, but so far we’re very impressed

  

   

  https://www.techradar.com/reviews/google-bard