Until last month, we believed that Google Bard still had a lot to improve to beat the high standards set by Open AI’s GPT. However, the game is now switching aggressively. On February 1, 2024, Google Bard’s new update was released, which gave access to Gemini Pro globally and also empowered Bard to generate images from text prompts.
To give you an idea of how capable Gemini Pro is, it has managed to surpass GPT-4 and secure a second spot on the independent LMSYS leaderboard.
Google Bard is counterattacking OpenAI’s GPT-4 with its much-needed and powerful updates. Therefore, let’s talk in detail about Google Bard new update and also compare it with ChatGPT and Midjourney.
Part 1. Google Bard New Updates as of 1st February
On February 1, 2024, Google introduced some major and much-needed new updates to Bard. The key highlights of Google Bard new updates are as follows:
Globally Accessible Gemini Pro in Bard
Google brought Gemini Pro into Bard in English in December 2023. On February 1, 2024, Google Gemini Pro in Bard was made available in 230 countries/territories and 40 languages. This means that users across the globe are now able to access Gemino Pro and experience a more advanced Bard that has enhanced understanding, summarizing, reasoning, and coding abilities.
Double-check Responses in Multiple Languages
Another Google Bard new update is the enhanced double-check feature, which is now accessible in over 40 languages. If you press the “G” icon, Bard will instantly check if there is content on the web to verify its response. If the response can be evaluated, you can tap the highlighted phrases and get more relevant information extracted from the web search. Previously, this support was only available for the English language.
Generate Images in Bard
One of the most talked about Google Bard new update is the ability to generate AI images with text prompts. Powered through the Imagen 2 model, Google Bard is now able to generate high-quality images from text prompts, such as a dog riding a surfboard, etc.
All you need is to specify the image requirements in the text prompt, and Google Gemini Bard will generate the image accordingly.
Part 2. Google Bard vs ChatGPT and Midjourney
Looking at the above Google Bard new updates, there is no doubt that Google is battling strong with Open AI and trying to regain the spotlight that Open AI took with ChatGPT. However, the question is: whether Google Bard has become better than ChatGPT and Midjourney. Let’s find out by having a thorough comparison of Google Gemini Bard vs ChatGPT and Midjourney.
A. The Comparison between Google Bard and ChatGPT
ChatGPT is considered the ultimate AI chatbot for everyone, and it has improved a lot since its launch. Today, it offers access to all GPT-4 tools, including natural language understanding, image description, and web search capabilities.
Moreover, GPT-4 now comes integrated with many other third-party tools. For instance, UPDF is a powerful PDF reader and editor tool that now leverages GPT-4 to help users chat with PDF content and have a better understanding by getting content summaries, translations, explanations, and more.
Previously, Google Bard had faced a lot of backlash due to its poor NLP capabilities and limited functionality. However, the Google Bard new update, especially the Gemini Pro brings it back to the leaderboard. As mentioned earlier, Google Gemini Pro surpassed the early models of GPT-4 and grabbed the top second spot in the independent LMSYS leaderboard.
Now the question is: has Google Bard become better than ChatGPT? Let’s talk about this point in detail now.
Since Google Bard and ChatGPT have an extensive set of capabilities, it isn’t possible to evaluate them from all aspects. To get the best overview of their differences, we have done our analysis and looked into different similar research made on Google Bard vs ChatGPT by different reputed sites.
Based on that, we have come up with the following differences between Google Gemini Bard vs ChatGPT:
● ChatGPT gives informative responses, while Bard gives conversational responses.
● ChatGPT remains stuck to the prompt, while Bard can also provide relevant additional information.
● ChatGPT is good at rewriting/paraphrasing, while Bard is good at simplifying.
● ChatGPT responses are less reader-friendly compared to Bard responses.
● ChatGPT is less inefficient than Bard in generating formulas for Google Sheets.
● Bard has a “G” button to verify the response from the web.
● ChatGPT sometimes struggles to provide up-to-date information, while Bard mostly gives up-to-date information.
● ChatGPT has weaker content ideation capabilities than Bard.
● ChatGPT is good at providing engaging and thorough summaries, while Bard provides brief summaries.
From the above comparison, we can see that both Google Bard and ChatGPT have their pros and cons. The choice mainly depends on your use case.
Use Google Bard because:
● Good at internet searching for real-time data
● Creates AI images for free
● Integrates with Google services/workspace
● Provides relevant additional information
● Reader-friendly responses
● Double-check responses
● Mobile app support for iOS and Android
● Effective content ideation
● Superior user experience
Use ChatGPT because:
● Provides informative/authentic responses
● Generate high-quality images with DALL-E 3 (paid)
● Good at generating longer content
● Mobile app support for iOS and Android
● Provides engaging and thorough summaries
● Supports plugins
Overall, Google Bard new update has made it a much more competitive and reliable alternative to ChatGPT. However, the final decision is yours. As per our recommendation, ChatGPT is useful for content generation, while Gemini is useful for research tasks.
B. The Comparison between Google Bard and Midjourney
Midjourney is a well-known generative AI tool that can create visual art from text prompts. In February, both Google Bard and Midjourney released major updates. Bard started supporting image generation from text prompts through the Imagen 2 model, while Midjourney launched V6, the next iteration of its AI art generator.
To decide which AI tool generates the best images, we decided to ask both tools to create images for the same text prompts. Below are the results we got from them:
Prompt 1: A photorealistic image of a cat wearing a tiny astronaut helmet, peering out a spaceship window
Left: Google Bard; Right: Midjourney
Prompt 2: A pixel art rendition of a bustling marketplace in a fantasy world
Left: Google Bard; Right: Midjourney
Prompt 3: A detailed architectural drawing of a futuristic underwater city
Left: Google Bard; Right: Midjourney
From the above three prompts, we can see that Google Bard is giving tough competition to Midjourney V6. Midjourney seems to be a winner in Prompt 1, but Google Bard offers more realistic/appealing outputs in Prompt 2 and Prompt 3. Therefore, we cannot deny the fact that Google Bard is heading fast in the race and looking to dominate the AI tool market just like Google search engine dominance.
Part 3. How to Use New Google Bard Correctly to Streamline Your Workflow
The Google Bard new update has brought many exciting and useful features for us to use. So, how do you maximize your use of the new Google Bard? Below are some useful tips you can follow to streamline your workflow with Google Bard:
Tip 1. Use Right Settings for Google Bard
To maximize the use of Google Bard, turn on the Dark mode and toggle on “Respond in real time” for quicker responses.
If you are using a personal Google account, then click Settings > Extensions and toggle on Google Workspace and YouTube. Once the extensions are enabled, you can type “@” and then access those extensions, such as Gmail, Google Docs, Google Drive, etc.
Tip 2. Access Gmail with Google Bard
You can access your Gmail account from Google Bard. For example, you can use the text prompt like “@Gmail give me all emails that mention dividend earnings”. This way, you can easily access many Gmail activities from Google Bard.
Tip 3. Access Google Drive with Google Bard
You can use Google Bard to search and access files directly from your Google Drive. For example, you can use the text prompt like “@Google Drive could you find all files related to January articles”. Afterward, Bard will list the name and brief details of all those files and let you directly access those files.
Tip 4. Use Google Docs with Google Bard
Google Bard new update makes it capable of directly analyzing specific Google Docs files and performing the required actions. For example, you can use the text prompt like “@Google Docs “Article — DocGPT” only use this content file to answer. Your task is to go through the file and provide 3 key points”. You can replace the file name with yours. Once you execute this prompt, you will notice that Google Bard will deliver a precise answer.
Tip 5. Utilize Google Bard in Your Day-to-Day Workflows
Google Bard can assist you in your daily workflows in multiple ways. Some of the ways you can utilize Google Bard are as follows:
● Image Analysis: You can paste the image in the prompt and ask Bard to analyze it.
● Create an Editable Table from Image: You can upload an image with data or an uneditable table and ask Bard to provide you with an editable table. In fact, you can even export into Google Spreadsheet with one click.
● Reverse Engineer Image Prompt: You can upload an AI image and ask Bard to reverse engineer the text prompt for this image.
● Paste PDF Link and Analyze It: You can paste a link to a PDF file and then ask Bard to have a specific analysis. Alternatively, you can upload the PDF to Google Drive and then use the “@Google Drive” command to make Bard analyze the PDF.
In short, Google Bard now has endless possibilities to make you utilize it in your daily activities.
Tip 6. Analyze YouTube Videos
The last tip today about Google Gemini Bard is its intelligent YouTube videos analysis. For example, if you want to perform an analysis of a YouTube video, like knowing about the targeted audience, user insights, and reasons behind its high views, you can do it all with Google Bard.
For that, you can use the text prompt “@YouTube [Video link] analyze this video and tell me its target audience and reasons why it is getting high views”. Once submitted, you will get an informative analysis of that YouTube video right away.
Part 4. Other Major Google Bard New Updates in Feb 2024 So Far
The month of February has been revolutionary for Google Bard so far. Above, we discussed the Google Bard update release on February 1st, but Google Bard received even more updates afterward. Below, we have compiled all other major Google Gemini Bard updates that happened in February 2024:
1. Bard Became Gemini (February 8, 2024)
On February 8, 2024, Google finally renamed “Bard” to “Gemini”. So, you will now hear about Google Gemini instead of Google Bard.
Secondly, Google introduced two new experiences, i.e., Gemini Advanced and a mobile app. The Gemini Advanced provides access to Ultra 1.0, which was previously accessible to Google employees only. Ultra 1.0 is the most capable and latest state-of-the-art AI model developed by Google. It makes Google Gemini more capable of handling highly complex tasks, such as logical reasoning, coding, etc.
The Gemini Advanced is usable in over 150 countries and territories, and it currently supports the English language.
Third, Google has also launched the mobile app for Gemini and Gemini Advanced on the Play Store and the App Store. This was one of the most requested features because ChatGPT has already been available on mobile devices for many months.
2. Next-generation Model: Gemini 1.5 (February 15, 2024)
On February 15, 2024, Google introduced the next-generation model called Gemini 1.5. According to Google, the 1.5 Pro reaches comparable quality to the 1.0 Ultra but requires less computing.
Gemini 1.5 offers enhanced performance along with long-context understanding over wide modalities. Google is currently releasing the first Gemini 1.5 model called Gemini 1.5 Pro. It is a mid-size multimodal model with capabilities at a similar level to 1.0 Ultra.
Conclusion
Google Bard new updates are game-changing and raising the competition with OpenAI. The globally accessible Google Gemini Pro and image generation have already convinced users to leverage Google Bard in their workflows. On top of that, Gemini Advanced, Gemini mobile app, and Gemini 1.5 are lifting the game even higher.
Therefore, we can confidently say that OpenAI’s GPT finally has tough competition with the Google Bard update. So, things are going to become a lot more interesting as both Open AI and Google tend to uplift the capabilities of their AI tools.
