le: “Bard isn’t Search” //
“I want to make it very clear: Bard does not search.”
This is according to Jack Krawczyk (product lead for Bard), speaking at a Google all hands meeting late last week. CNBC reported.
Why do we care? There has been confusion in the search industry due to Bard’s rushed introduction. Google is partly to blame for this confusion, as it simultaneously introduced Bard and teased “AI powered features” that would soon be available to search.
The confusion. Google introduced Bard in an attempt to overtake Microsoft’s new Bing with ChatGPT Integration.
Sundar Pichai, Google CEO, posted a blog post introducing Bard ( A crucial next step in our AI journey). It included images of ChatGPT-style responses for two queries (“is guitar or piano easier to learn and how do they differ”); and “what are the best constellations when stargazing.”
Bard became synonymous in Google search with these generative AI features, just as ChatGPT was synonymous with generative AI. After our Bard story had been published, a Google spokesperson quickly reached out to us to clarify the differences.
- “Bard is distinct from Search. Therefore, referring to the Search screenshots within the context of Bard is not accurate. Bard is one thing. The generative AI features found in Search are two. Bard is an experience that can be used alone, and not in Search.
Separating Bard and search. It seems that even Googlers who have been working to improve Bard are still unsure about the differences between Search and Bard. At the all-hands meeting, one of the questions Google leadership was asked was:
- ChatGPT and Bard are large language models. They are not knowledge models. While they can generate text that sounds natural, they lack the ability to verify that it is fact-based. We think Search should be the first application. Search is all about finding truthful information.
Krawczyk added “Bard isn’t search” to his response, adding “we cannot stop users from trying it like search.”
He stated that Google still caters to searchers, and that Google has created a new feature called “Search It” for internal use.
Krawczyk stated that “we’re going to try to get better at generating queries associated there as well as relaying our confidence to users.” Krawczyk explained that search-like results will be avoided by showing users a tab saying “view other drafts.”
He said, “But as your desire to explore more search-oriented journeys,” he added.
In a testy meeting with all hands, Google executives tell employees that Bard A.I. is a better option. Search is not all about Google by Jennifer Elias via CNBC
Search Engine Land first published the post Google: ‘Bard Is Not Search’.