While the initial version of Bard isn’t as good as ChatGPT, Google later added more features and even changed the language model behind Bard from lambda to Palm-2. Upon using both Bard and ChatGPT daily for months, we recently found ourselves using Bard more than ChatGPT. In this article, we will show you things Bard can do better than ChatGPT and our personal reasons for preferring it over the latter.
Table of Contents
Before Getting Started
In this article, we won’t include things that both Bard and ChatGPT can do like writing or debugging code, generating written content, solving math, etc. We also are not comparing the accuracy of the answers generated by these chatbots, as we found both platforms are doing a fair and similar job in their current phase. Instead, we are focusing on the unique abilities of Bard that ChatGPT isn’t offering as of now.
1. Internet Access
Bard can access the internet, so it can provide more up-to-date info for your research. Whereas the free version of ChatGPT can only provide you with data until 2021. Though ChatGPT Plus users can use the Browsing plugin to use access the internet, it is slow and only collects data from a couple of sources. So if you want your chatbot to access the internet and provide up-to-date info, Bard is the way to go.
We have compiled a list of some amazing plugins to improve your ChatGPT experience.
2. Faster Response
Both ChatGPT and Bard take a couple of seconds to begin generating the answer. But, Bard produces the complete answer at once whereas ChatGPT will slowly reveal the answer sentence by sentence. For most users, this might not be an issue and we even prefer the animation ChatGPT displays. But when we ask for info such as “File formats supported by Photoshop”, we can instantly check the supported formats in Bard.
Whereas on ChatGPT, we have to wait until ChatGPT slowly provides the answer. If you are using GPT-4, it takes even more time to start generating an answer.
Also, for mathematical or any answers that require high processing power, answers from Bard are generally much faster. Moreover, ChatGPT, sometimes, will simply show an error message instead of generating an answer which isn’t the case with Bard.
3. Images in Results
While both Bard and ChatGPT are advanced language learning models, Bard can import images from the web into its answers to give you a visual understanding. So when you ask for recipes, places to visit, things to buy, etc, you will also see suitable images accordingly thanks to Google Image Search.
Other than that, you can search for visual ideas such as landscaping, interior design, etc. too using Bard.
While not all results generated by Bard include images, Google says you should be seeing images in more results moving forward.
4. Generates Tables
Bard can also generate tables if needed. Instead of reading the entire text or paragraph generated by these chatbots which can be boring and monotonous, a table helps quickly scan the info.
Also, you can ask Bard to create a table for any data it provides. For example, you asked Bard for “Recipes with Milk and Eggs”. Once Bard generates the result, ask it to create a table and list the ingredients in another column.
In fact, you can enter any data and ask Bard to generate a table using the same. Also, you can customize the table by specifying what you want in the columns and rows of the table to Bard.
5. Export to Sheets
To save tables generated by Bard, you can easily export the table to Google Sheets. Just ecosystem stuff. Later you can share the sheet with your friends or colleagues, and collaborate on the same.
To do that, click on the Export to Sheets button below the table. It will create a spreadsheet and shows an option to open it.
6. Draft to Gmail/Google Docs
You can use both Google Bard and ChatGPT to generate emails, articles, summaries, blog posts, etc. But using Bard, you can also export the generated result to Gmail or Google Docs. Once you have the draft on Gmail or Google Docs, it is easy to edit before sending or saving the file.
To draft the answer to Gmail/Google Docs directly from Bard, scroll down to the bottom of the generated result, then click on the up arrow icon beside the Google it button. Then click on Export to Docs or Draft in Gmail option accordingly.
7. Voice Type
On ChatGPT, you can type the question irrespective of how long it is. On Bard, Google integrated a speech to text using which you can communicate with just your voice. This can come in handy especially when you have to ask a long question with more details. Note that voice-to-text is mostly accurate and understands what you are saying.
8. Continue on Google
While both Bard and ChatGPT are producing better results than ever before, they still carry a lot of bad data and wrong information. This is called AI hallucination where these models provide and claim the info is right confidently when it is completely wrong. It’s arguable to say one platform provides better or more accurate results than the other as we found both chatbots doing a similar job.
But, on Bard, you can click on Google it button below the generated answer to search for related topics on Google Search. This should help you to verify the answer or even research further the good old way.
9. Upto 3 Drafts
Unlike ChatGPT, Bard will generate 3 drafts. So if the generated email or article isn’t good enough, instead of regenerating, you can simply check other drafts generated by Bard. If you ask for recommendations like “best recipes”, then you can check other drafts for more recommendations.
But our personal favorite use of drafts is when we ask it to plan something. Whether it’s planning a daily routine, timetable, workout session, or diet, you can have 3 different plans to start with. We can manually club all 3 drafts to create a better plan too.
10. Location Based Searches
Another major advantage of Bard is that you can conduct local searches like Restaurants near you, etc. Not just that, whatever you ask Bard, it will give you an answer taking your location into consideration making it more accurate for your specific needs.
Google also promised to include Google Maps in Bard, so you can ask for directions, or even ask it to mark all the selected locations.
11. No Message Limits
ChatGPT allows unlimited messages in the free version that runs on GPT 3.5. But if you are a plus user, you can access GPT-4 which is more advanced than GPT 3.5, especially when it comes to mathematical, programming, or logical thinking. Also, internet access is only available on the GPT-4.
However, GPT-4 currently has a cap of 25 messages every 3 hours. So if you prefer to access the internet and want unlimited messages support, ChatGPT is not for you.
On the flip side, Bard has no message limits irrespective of being able to access the internet and include images as of now.
12. Completely Free
Most importantly, most ChatGPT features like GPT-4, Internet access, etc. are only available in the paid ChatGPT Plus version which costs $20/month. On the other side, the latest language model behind Bard can access the internet, integrates with other Google services, provide location-based answers, etc., and is completely free on Bard.
Bard vs ChatGPT
So these are some things that Bard can do better than ChatGPT. Also, Google announced more features that coming to Bard like Google Maps integration, the ability to generate images directly on Bard, etc. Anyhow, to get to a conclusion, you also need to check out things ChatGPT can do better than Bard.
Did you know you can now use ChatGPT on smartphones? Here’s how.
