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There’s a war going on between ChatGPT and Google Bard. Both chatbots are insanely powerful, and they’re good enough to really help people out (or help them out of a job). Since Google is positioning Bard strictly against ChatGPT, it was only a matter of time before someone pitted them together. Here’s Google Bard vs. ChatGPT.
In this article, we’re going to compare both of these bots in several areas: Speed, Conversational skills, Information, Tips, Written Content, and Features. These are some of the more important skills that an AI chatbot can possess.
If you’re curious to know more about these chatbots, we have additional resources to learn about them. We have Everything You Need To Know About Google Bard and Everything You Need To Know About ChatGPT.
[Updated December 15th, 2023] Bard got a boost
This comparison might be a bit lopsided in some areas. As of December 6th, Bard is now running on Gemini. If you don’t know what Gemini is, it’s the company’s newest and most powerful model. There are three versions of Gemini. The version powering Bard is called Gemini Pro, and it’s pretty powerful,.
While that’s the case, you can expect Bard to have some more powerful AI driving it. While that’s the case, this comparison will compare these chatbots in the areas where you’re most likely to notice.
Google Bard vs. ChatGPT: Speed
When it comes to speed, both chatbots are about neck and neck. Before, ChatGPT lagged behind the competition when it came to speed, but OpenAI sent an update to the chatbot that gave it a notable speed boost.
You still see ChatGPT type out its responses word by word, but it’s much quicker than before. Having both of the chatbots generate responses with 100, 200, and 300 words, they were never more than about a second off from each other. There was one exception where Bard generated a response in five seconds, and ChatGPT took eight seconds.
Google Bard vs ChatGPT: Conversational Skills
The goal of chatbots is to give you responses that come off as human as possible. In terms of how conversational these bots are, they’re both very similar and very different at the same time.
Both bots are heavy on the tips and information. I typed in “My cat died”, and both of them offered condolences followed by a bunch of tips on how to deal with grief. When I typed in “I’m thinking of picking up a hobby”, they both delivered lengthy lists of potential hobbies that I could get into. I typed that I was getting into astrology, and both chatbots explained what it is and some of its history.
Between both chatbots, Google Bard was more succinct with its responses. ChatGPT’s responses are more long-winded, which isn’t really a bad thing; you can’t argue with more information. If you’re looking for more of a straight-to-the-point answer, then you’d want to use Bard. If you want a more fleshed-out answer, then ChatGPT is the one for you.
Google Bard vs ChatGPT: Information
This one is a bit complicated because of where these two chatbots are in their development. Ostensibly, Google should take the crown on this one. [Updated December 4th, 2023] For the longest time, ChatGPT’s knowledge stopped a September 2021. However, that has since been pushed up to April 2023. This lets it account for more notable historical events like the war between Russia and Ukraine and others.
Google Bard still takes the cake in this respect, as it’s tied to Google- which is about 99.99% of the internet. In all seriousness, Bard has a direct line to Google’s ever-evolving knowledge and this keeps it up-to-date with just about everything. Even though ChatGPT’s knowledge is substantially more recent, there are still some recent events that are outside of its scope.
How the information is presented
As stated above, these chatbots are engineered to serve you useful information. They’re like teachers who try to squeeze a lesson into every casual conversation. Bard and ChatGPT are both pretty thorough in their responses, and they sometimes produce responses with comparable information.
But, ChatGPT is often more thorough with its responses. As said before, Bard is more succinct. Its paragraphs and bullet points often contain less information. ChatGPT really drives home the point and expands on the information it offers.
Since Bard is heavily tied to the internet, it’s much better about giving you helpful links to different resources. You’re likely to get relevant links, pictures, and videos to help augment the results. This is something that you don’t get with ChatGPT.
Google Bard vs ChatGPT: Tips/Advice
When it comes to giving tips and advice, the two chatbots take different approaches. ChatGPT is more straightforward with its responses. If you ask for tips or advice, it’ll start you off with a quick introduction, and then it will give you a list of tips with a closing paragraph- plain and simple.
Bard’s responses are more well-rounded. It will still start you off with an intro and it will still give you a list of tips. However, Bard will provide additional information. It would tell you additional things to keep in mind and give you examples of what you should and shouldn’t do. It focuses on the information and gives you extra. When it comes to the actual information provided, you won’t go wrong either way. It’s a matter of wanting additional information and caution with your responses.
Bard seems to be the way to go if you want more fleshed-out answers. Its responses are more 3-dimensional.
Google Bard vs ChatGPT: Written content
Aside from being your friend and your encyclopedia, these chatbots are good authors. They can produce original written content based on your input. The story with written content continues the theme established earlier on. Bard’s content is shorter. I asked both of them to generate eulogies, stories, scripts, and other content, and each time, ChatGPT’s responses were longer and more fleshed out.
Scripts are more detailed, stories are more descriptive, eulogies try more to add emotion and substance, and so on with ChatGPT. If you’re looking to create content, you won’t really go wrong with either, but ChatGPT will definitely give you more satisfying results.
Google Bard vs ChatGPT: Features
Being powerful and generating responses are great, but what about the extra goodies? This is where Google takes the cake, and it’s not hard to see why. When ChatGPT first launched, it seemed like it had Google in a headlock, and Bard didn’t do much to turn people away from ChatGPT. However, after Google I/O 2023, it seemed that the search giant brought out the big guns.
Google can scan images using Lens, generate code and tell you why it works, export directly to Docs and Gmail, let you type prompts using your voice, use plugins to integrate with different services, generate three responses at a time, give you SEO advice on websites, and much more. Bard is integrated into several of Google’s services, and it’s like an AI co-pilot.
Google has built an empire of services that can benefit from Bard, so it’s no shocker that ChatGPT can’t keep up in that regard. If you’re looking for robust features that will increase your workflow or just make life easier, Bard is the bot for you.
[Updated December 4th, 2023] ChatGPT, however, has a feature that will make it more intuitive and help speed up your workflow if you use it constantly. The feature lets you create what are called custom instructions. If you create multiple conversations with the chatbot on a daily basis for the same reason, this will come in handy. Instead of having to constantly tell it what the conversation is going to be about every time you create a conversation, you can tell ChatGPT what you do and what you create conversations about. This was, every time you create one, it will already have the context.
Conclusion
So, which bot should you use? Both chatbots are great at the basics, and they manage to bring their own flavor to their responses.
You should use Bard if:
- You want a more robust and integrated experience
- You want more short and to-the-point responses
- You want more well-rounded advice and tips
You should use ChatGPT if:
- You want more fleshed-out responses
- You’re going to be generating more written content
- You want a more customized experience