Google launched its conversational AI “Bard”, which competes with OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

Bard is a conversational generative artificial intelligence 

chatbot developed by Google, based initially on the LaMDA family of large language models (LLMs) and later the PaLM LLM. 

It was developed as a direct response to the rise of OpenAI's ChatGPT, and was released in a limited capacity in March 2023 to lukewarm responses, before expanding to other

In November 2022, OpenAI launched ChatGPT, a chatbot based on the GPT-3 family of large language models (LLM) [ChatGPT gained worldwide attention following its release, becoming a viral Internet sensation. 

Alarmed by ChatGPT's potential threat to Google Search, Google executives issued a "code red" alert, reassigning several teams to assist in the company's artificial intelligence (AI) efforts. In a rare and unprecedented move, 

On February 6, Google announced Bard, a conversational generative artificial intelligence chatbot powered by LaMDA. Bard was first rolled out to a select group of 10,000 "trusted testers", before a wide release scheduled at the end of the month. Bard is overseen by product lead Jack Krawczyk, who described the product as a "collaborative AI service" rather than a search engine

while Pichai detailed how Bard would be integrated into Google Search.Reuters calculated that adding ChatGPT-like features to Google Search could cost the company $6 billion in additional expenses by 2024, while research and consulting firm SemiAnalysis calculated that it would cost Google $3 billion.

 The technology was developed under the codename "Atlas", with the name "Bard" in reference to the Celtic term for a storyteller and chosen to "reflect the creative nature of the algorithm underneath".Multiple media outlets and financial analysts described Google as "rushing" Bard's announcement to preempt rival Microsoft's planned February 7 event unveiling its partnership with OpenAI to integrate ChatGPT into its Bing search engine, as well as playing "catch-up" to Microsoft.

Tom Warren of The Verge and Davey Alba of Bloomberg News noted that this marked the beginning of another clash between the two Big Tech companies over "the future of search", after their six-year "truce" expired in 2021; Chris Stokel-Walker of The Guardian, Sara Morrison of Recode, and analyst Dan Ives of investment firm Wedbush Securities labeled this an AI arms race between the two.

Google opened up early access for Bard on March 21 in a limited capacity, allowing users in the U.S. and UK to join a waitlist. Unlike Microsoft's approach with Bing, Bard was launched as a standalone web application featuring a text box and a disclaimer that the chatbot "may display inaccurate or offensive information that doesn't represent Google's views".

 Three responses are then provided to each question, with users prompted to submit feedback on the usefulness of each answer. Google vice presidents Sissie Hsiao and Eli Collins framed Bard as a complement to Google Search and stated that the company had not determined how to make the service profitable. Among those granted early access were those enrolled in Google's "Pixel Superfans" loyalty program.

Shortly after Bard's initial launch, Google reorganized the team behind Google Assistant, the company's virtual assistant, to focus on Bard instead. Google researcher Jacob Devlin resigned from the company after claiming that Bard had surreptitiously leveraged data from ChatGPT;Google denied the allegations.

 Pichai revealed on March 31 that the company intended to "upgrade" Bard by basing it on PaLM, a newer and more powerful LLM from Google, rather than LaMDA. The same day, Krawczyk announced that Google had added "math and logic capabilities" to Bard. 

Bard gained the ability to assist in coding in April, being compatible with more than 20 programming languages at launch. Microsoft also began running advertisements in the address bar of a developer build of the Edge browser urging users to try Bing whenever they visit the Bard web app.Google is working to integrate Bard into its ChromeOS operating system and Pixel devices.

During the annual Google I/O keynote in May 2023, Pichai and Hsiao announced a series of updates to Bard, including the adoption of PaLM 2, integration with other Google products and third-party services, expansion to 180 countries, support for additional languages, and new features. 

The expanded rollout did not include any nations in the European Union, possibly reflecting concerns about compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation.