A comparison of ChatGPT and Bard
In the past year, AI Technology has generated considerable excitement, particularly with the growing popularity of ChatGPT.
Millions of users around the world have become familiar with ChatGPT, using it for a variety of tasks, including writing articles, creative content, problem solving or answering questions.
Google has now also entered the scene with its own AI language model called Bard.
ChatGPT and Bard represent significant milestones in the development of natural language processing, enabling machines to engage in human-like conversations and generate creative written works in response to our inputs.
In this article, we will compare these two AI chatbots and shed some light on their similarities and differences.
| ChatGPT | Bard | |
|---|---|---|
| Developer | OpenAI | |
| Website | openai.com/chatgpt | bard.google.com |
| Availability/Pricing | ChatGPT is free, however there is also a monthly premium subscription for USD$20 | Bard is completely free |
| Ease of Access: | Log in using your Google, Microsoft or Apple account | Easy to access if you are already logged into your Google account |
| Reliability | Information provided is only up to September 2021, with limited ability to search information past this date. | More accurate information available on current events and factual topics, as references are more up to date and broad. |
ChatGPT is developed by OpenAI and was first launched for public use in November 2022. It has been built on a large language model, trained on large amounts of text data from books, articles and websites.
During its training process, ChatGPT has learned patterns and structures of language, allowing it to generate coherent and contextually relevant answers to users’ questions. Its training data and information only goes up to September 2021, so there are limitations on its ability to provide answers to events past this date.
ChatGPT is free to use, however there is a premium subscription of USD$20 per month to access more features, such as access during peak times and using the Internet search feature (via Bing search).
However, the paid subscription does also have limits on the number of messages you can enter per hour due to the website’s popularity, and Bing’s search information is not as comprehensive as Google search.
Bard, developed by Google, was released for public use in March 2023. Like ChatGPT, it is a large language model trained on a massive dataset of text data from books, articles, websites, and social media.
However, Bard can also access real-time information from the internet through Google search. While it is still under development, Bard can do most of the same things as ChatGPT, and it is completely free to use.
Now let’s compare various features of the two AI chatbots in some more detail.
Bard offers a seamless user experience, as it uses your Google account to log in and get started.
Once you’re logged in, you can enter a prompt and Bard will give a response. You can also view multiple draft responses to your query by clicking “View other drafts” in the drop-down menu below the question.
If you want to refine your question, you can edit it instead of typing it again. Bard keeps track of your activity in your Google account (if you choose this option), but it only stores a list of the questions you asked, not the full conversation.
ChatGPT can be accessed by using your Google, Microsoft or Apple account. Its interface is more basic than Bard, however similarly, once you are logged in, you can enter a prompt and it will give a response.
In contrast to Bard, ChatGPT allows you to easily see the complete history of the conversations you’ve had with it on the left side bar.
ChatGPT also allows you to share the conversation with others easily by clicking on the share icon for that conversation entry on the side bar.
You can also edit questions you’ve asked ChatGPT, but it doesn’t provide multiple draft responses at once like Bard. You can always ask the question again though and it will usually give the answer written in a different way, which is very useful for creative responses.
ChatGPT and Bard are two large language models (LLMs) with different strengths and weaknesses.
ChatGPT is trained on a dataset of text and code that is specifically designed for conversations, so it is better at generating natural-sounding and engaging dialogue.
Bard, on the other hand, is trained on a more comprehensive dataset that includes information from the real world, so it is better at providing informative and comprehensive answers to questions.
Bard’s ability to access and process information through Google search gives it a significant advantage over ChatGPT. This is because Google search is constantly being updated with new information, which means that Bard is always able to provide the most up-to-date information possible. For example, if you ask Bard about the latest news, it will be able to tell you about stories that have just broken, even if they have not yet been published on other websites.
ChatGPT on the other hand is generally limited to information up to September 2021.
A strong feature that Bard has over ChatGPT is that it is able to provide you with a summary of a website link. For example, if Bard is asked to summarise the website link www.jdstride.com.au, it will give a summary response of our company, team and services by reading the information from our website.
ChatGPT on the other hand is only an AI text-based model and doesn’t have direct access to browse the internet or open links that you might provide.
Here is a summary of the Pros and Cons of using each AI chatbot:
PRO
- Up-to-date: Bard is constantly being updated with new information, so it can provide you with the most accurate and up-to-date information on your topic.
- Free: Bard is available for free to anyone with a Google account.
- Summarising website links feature: Bard can easily provide summaries on website links for you.
CONTRA
- Still learning: Bard doesn’t yet understand human prompt commands as well as ChatGPT and therefore may not get the response correct as it is still learning
PRO
- Natural-sounding: ChatGPT can generate responses that are natural and human-like, and is generally more engaging in its conversations with users.
- Creative: ChatGPT can generate text in a variety of creative formats, including poems, code, scripts, musical pieces, email, letters, etc.
- Multi-task: ChatGPT can be used for a variety of tasks, including customer service, content creation, and research which can be easily shared among members of a team.
CONTRA
- Data/information limitation: ChatGPT’s responses are only based on data until November 2021, with limited Internet search through Bing for results after this date.
Both Chatbots are prone to AI hallucinations, which means they can provide confident responses that are factually incorrect. This is because chatbots are trained to be confident in their answers.
However, as they have access to vast amounts of information, they are still learning to filter out information that is not correct and processing the most relevant data for your query. Therefore, it is always best to check the information provided by chatbots for its accuracy before using it in any meaningful way.
Users should also be mindful to not share confidential or sensitive information when using ChatGPT or Bard, as the AI Chatbots are using the information you provide to train themselves in their responses, and this information may become available to others on the Internet.
Ultimately, the best language model for you will depend on your specific needs and preferences.
If you are looking for a language model that can generate human like responses and is good at text-based processing tasks, then ChatGPT may be a good option for you.
If you are looking for a language model that has access to up-to-date information and can access and process information from the real world, then Bard may be the better option.
