Google Upgrades Bard With PaLM 2 and Brings AI to Workspace
Google removes the Bard waitlist and powers the chatbot with the new PaLM 2 language model to better understand code and integrate with Maps. The company also introduces Duet AI features to enhance its Workspace productivity apps.
Google removes the waitlist for its Bard chatbot and powers it with the new PaLM 2 large language model during its I/O 2023 keynote. This major update allows Bard to understand twenty programming languages, provide actionable code, and export that code to a remote test server. By opening Bard to the general public, Google attempts to close the gap with competitors like OpenAI's ChatGPT and Microsoft's Bing.
Bard now features deeper integration with Google's own services, acting more like a productivity hub than a simple search assistant. Users can interact with Google Maps directly within the chatbot to receive visual directions, and they can use images as both inputs and outputs through Google Lens. Instead of generating images natively, Bard relies on third-party plugins like Adobe Firefly for AI art creation.
Alongside the Bard updates, Google brings AI capabilities to its Workspace suite through a feature called Duet AI. These new tools aim to fundamentally improve the productivity apps that millions of people use daily for work and school. Together, these announcements represent Google's strategic push to reclaim its leadership position in the rapidly evolving artificial intelligence landscape.