In a groundbreaking development, Google is set to give its AI chatbot, Google Bard, a significant boost by integrating it with Gemini, their latest and most advanced AI model. The tech giant claims that this upgrade will revolutionize Bard’s capabilities, equipping it with advanced reasoning, planning, understanding, and various other enhancements.
Gemini, available in Ultra, Pro, and Nano versions, promises versatility, allowing it to operate across a wide range of platforms, from mobile devices to data centers.
The rollout of Gemini to Bard will occur in two phases. Initially, Bard will be upgraded with a tailored version of Gemini Pro. Following this, in the next year, Google plans to introduce Bard Advanced, featuring Gemini Ultra, the most powerful AI model.
The enhanced Bard with Gemini Pro will first be available in English across more than 170 countries and territories worldwide, with additional languages and regions, including the EU and the U.K., in the pipeline.
Google subjected Gemini Pro to rigorous industry-standard benchmarks before its public release. In six out of eight benchmarks, Gemini outperformed the previous GPT-3.5 model, showcasing superior performance in multitask language understanding and math reasoning. However, some experts, like TechCrunch’s Kyle Wiggers, pointed out that GPT-3.5 is over a year old, making the comparison somewhat of a catch-up rather than an outright victory.
The improvements to Bard aim to enhance its capabilities in understanding, summarizing content, reasoning, brainstorming, writing, and planning.
Sissie Hsiao, VP and GM of Assistant and Bard at Google, emphasized that this upgrade represents the most significant quality improvement since Bard’s launch.
Initially, Gemini Pro will power text-based prompts in Bard, with plans to expand into multimodal support, including text and images, in the coming months. In 2024, Bard Advanced, powered by Gemini Ultra, is set to debut, offering AI capabilities across various data types, from text and images to audio, video, and code. Notably, it can understand, generate, and explain high-quality code in popular programming languages.
Google intends to launch a trusted tester program for Bard Advanced before a broader release in early 2024, with additional safety checks in place.
This update follows a series of improvements to Bard since its launch eight months ago, including the ability to answer questions about YouTube videos and integration with Google apps like Gmail, Docs, Drive, and more. It also includes safeguards to prevent AI-generated responses based on false information.
Sissie Hsiao summed up the update by acknowledging that with Gemini, Google is a step closer to delivering the world’s best AI collaborator, acknowledging that Bard is continually evolving and improving.
The integration of Gemini into Google Bard represents a significant step forward in the realm of AI chatbots, promising more intelligent, versatile, and capable interactions for users worldwide.