Google upgrades AI chatbot Bard and announces a slew of new features

Google introduces new features and upgrades Bard to use its new PaLM 2 language paradigm.

Google's AI chatbot Bard is getting a slew of new capabilities, including support for new languages (Japanese and Korean), better methods to export text to Google Docs and Gmail, visual search, and a dark mode. Most notably, the business is eliminating the Bard backlog and making the system available in English in 180 nations and territories. It also promises future capabilities including Adobe-powered AI image production and interaction with third-party web services like Instacart and OpenTable.

Notably, in its first public demonstration, Bard made a factual inaccuracy (albeit this is a fault shared by all similar bots). Google is now introducing many new features and upgrading Bard to use its new PaLM 2 language paradigm. This should enhance the general answers and usefulness of the system.

According to Google, the improved Bard is especially adept at answering coding queries, including debugging and explaining portions of code in more than 20 languages. These include a new dark mode, enhanced code citations, and an export button. Google is making Bard more visual for more broad usage, with the ability to analyze photographs, offer images in query results, and generate graphics using AI (a capability that will arrive "in the coming months" powered by Adobe's Firefly tech).