le explains why Bard does not list citations or links to content creators //

Google opened Bard yesterday. As more people begin to use the service , and to compare it with other competitors such as Bing chat and OpenAI’s ChatGPT HTML2, we are starting to notice differences. Google Bard and Bing Chat have one thing in common. Bard appears to not show citations or links to publishers and content creators.

Google does not show citations. Google’s Bard FAQs have been updated to clarify that Bard will show citations if it “directly quotes at the length of a webpage”. Otherwise, Bard won’t show acitation because Bard “generates new content” and “does not replicate existing content at any length.”

Google wrote:

“How and when does Bard cite source in its responses?” Bard, like other standalone LLM experiences is designed to create original content, not duplicate existing content. Our systems have been designed to minimize the possibility of this happening, and we will continue to improve their functionality. If Bard directly quotes a webpage at length, it cites the page.

Bard was designed to be a creative, helpful and collaborative tool. It can help you brainstorm ideas for birthday parties or write emails. It is a complement to Google Search. We added the “Google It” button to Bard so that people can move between Bard and other websites to find information.

Bard is an experiment. We’ll use it as an opportunity for learning, iterating, and improving the experience. As we receive feedback from a variety of stakeholders, including creators, publishers, and others, we’ll make Bard a success.

Examples. This is an example where Bard answers a question without citing any sources:

Ask Bing Chat the exact same question, and Bing will link to its sources.

Google It button. Google says that you can use the “Google It” button to search for content matching your query. Google offers this button, it stated, “so people are able to easily move from Bard and explore information from all over the internet.”

Google displays citations and links when it is possible. This is an example where Google shows citations and hyperlinks. To be fair, the links didn’t show up in the initial draft response. They only showed up in subsequent draft responses.

Why we care. Google Bard won’t likely send a lot traffic to the internet or websites at this time. Google Bard is and not a replacement to Search, according to Google. Google sees Bard currently as a new type of tool, and will continue to adapt it. Google said that Bard is an experiment and will use the launch to learn, iterate and improve the experience, as we receive feedback from a variety of stakeholders, including creators and publishers.

The post Google explains Why Bard Rarely Lists Citations and Links to Content Creators was first published on Search Engine land.