Users to Google: Make Bard More Like ChatGPT

It sounds like a good idea for a Google product team: Ask an online AI community what features they would like to see in Bard, its rival chatbot to OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

But Google may have bitten off more than it could proverbially chew: The users wanted Bard to be more like ChatGPT. This signals that Google is in an uphill battle for AI chatbot supremacy, despite employing more AI researchers than everybody else.

In a Reddit discussion forum posted this week, Chris Gorgolewski, a product manager on the Bard team, asked users what new Bard capabilities they would like to see.

Chris Gorgolewski from Google's Bard team Credit: Reddit

Among the most sought after updates were apps for iOS and Android − something OpenAI has had for ChatGPT since last May for iOS and in July for Android. Users wanted a standalone Bard app or at least an integration with Google’s Assistant app.

Both are on the way. Gorgolewski posted links to blogs from last October by Bard Vice President Sissie Hsiao stating that Assistant with Bard is still an early experiment but it is coming to the public “over the next few months.” Users are still waiting.

Requests for an image generator were also highly sought, with users asking for an integration with Google’s Imagen model, similar to how ChatGPT can generate images via DALL-E 3.

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Users also sought custom instructions - something ChatGPT already has - so they could make Bard answer queries in a certain way, such as generating responses concisely.

“Way behind gpt-3.5," wrote a user with the handle ‘bambin0.’ “Honestly, my list is so long for you. I always have to go back to openai.”

Users requested a music generator as well, which ChatGPT does not offer. Google’s music generation model, Lyria, is being integrated into creator features on YouTube later this year.

Another of the highest upvoted requests were changes to guardrails around what users can request from Bard. Redditors argued that Bard should not be more restrictive than Google search’s parental controls. Moreover, if Bard would not generate an answer, the users said they would simply use Google and search for that answer anyway.

“No censorship please,” pleaded user ‘mbaisthebest1' before adding another request for "a rude and controversial option please, which will be very unique compared to other models.”

Since its launch last March, Bard has received multiple updates from Google, including improved language support, boosted coding capabilities and expansions to other Google services, including to Gmail, Docs, YouTube and Google Maps.

Users who requested a more powerful version of Bard will get their wish: Google is set to introduce Gemini Ultra to Bard sometime this year.

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But for now, users just want Bard to be more like market leader ChatGPT. Wrote user ‘rm-rf_': “Build an app and reach parity with ChatGPT app on features."