Wherefore Art Thou, Bard? Google’s AI Chatbot Adopts a New Name

O, be some other name!

What’s in a name? That which we call a Bard

By any other name would smell as sweet.

— Anders Bylund misquoting the original Bard, William Shakespeare.

The Google Bard chatbot didn’t have the smoothest rollout ever. Google parent Alphabet (GOOG 0.33%) (GOOGL 0.29%) brought out this artificial intelligence (AI) service precisely one year ago, just two months and a week after OpenAI introduced its game-changing ChatGPT tool.

But Bard hasn’t really challenged the original AI chatbot in many ways, and Bard’s short history is already packed with missteps and limitations. So, it makes perfect sense that Google Bard is getting a new name on its first anniversary, hopefully distancing the current tool from its troubled introduction.

Starting tomorrow, the artist formerly known as Google Bard will be known as the Symb… wait, those are the wrong notes. Ahem. The new Google Gemini is hitting the internet on February 6, and the name change is actually one of the least interesting updates. Whatever you might call it, Google Bard/Gemini is starting to look like a serious ChatGPT alternative nowadays.

What’s in a name, anyway?

The impending name change comes from a couple of change logs for Bard’s mobile apps, unveiled independently by at least two different sources. Here’s the name-related section:

Bard is now Gemini

What: Gemini is the best way to get direct access to Google AI. All the collaborative capabilities you know and love are still here, and will keep getting better in the Gemini era. We’ve also evolved the UI to reduce visual distractions, improve legibility, and simplify the navigation.

Why: We’re committed to giving everyone direct access to Google AI and, as of this week, every Gemini user across our supported countries and languages has access to Google’s best family of AI models. To better reflect this commitment, we’ve renamed Bard to Gemini.

So that’s the end of the Bard era. The whole system will now be known by the underlying AI engine’s moniker.

As Shakespeare wrote long ago, a name change shouldn’t really matter. Bard, doff thy name!

How camest thou hither, tell me, and wherefore?

Of course, the new name won’t necessarily make chatbot users fall in love with the Google Gemini service. It will take some serious platform upgrades to reach that ideal target.

Internal test users reportedly urged Google not to release Bard so quickly, calling the system “worse than useless” and even “a pathological liar” just before the launch. Indeed, the first public tech demo presented a made-up astronomy tidbit as a proven truth, thus showcasing the ability of large language models (LLMs) to “hallucinate” incorrect statements of fact.

But Bard has improved quickly. Google likes to work on the principle of “failing fast,” which means adding new features and experience upgrades very quickly and then fixing whatever issues may arise from introducing incomplete or flawed details. You can also call it “rapid iteration,” as the process helps Google reiterate half-baked ideas until they become useful features.

On that note, recent head-to-head comparisons between Bard and ChatGPT still tend to give OpenAI’s system the edge — but by a far smaller margin over time.

Henceforth I never will be Bard

And the Gemini-branded version of Bard includes a few brand-new system upgrades as well.

• Today, Google Bard is more of a feature added to your smartphone’s existing Google apps than a stand-alone tool. Tomorrow, there will be a separate Gemini app for Android and a Gemini tab in the iPhone’s Google app. Either way, you’ll get a ChatGPT-like interactive experience for the first time, previously only available in the browser-based version of Bard.
• A premium service called Gemini Advanced, powered by the top-notch Ultra 1.0 AI model, promises to deliver better results for complex tasks. Previously expected to reach your phone as Bard Advanced, the app arrives alongside the overall rebranding.
  I can’t wait to see reviewers putting this upgraded Gemini system through the paces in direct comparisons to the latest and greatest ChatGPT system. This could be the last straw that breaks ChatGPT’s dominance in the budding AI chatbot arena.
• Most Bard users haven’t had easy access to the Gemini engine so far, but it’s becoming the default experience in 150 countries this week. As such, a lot of people will now be able to upload files for AI analysis, generate images or audio, and more via Google’s preferred AI assistant. Recent ChatGPT updates have introduced similar features, so it’s high time to bring them into the Bard/Gemini fold as well.

What satisfaction canst thou have tonight?

Many observers see chatbots like ChatGPT as a serious threat against Google’s namesake search service, which provides the bulk of Alphabet’s revenues and profits. Therefore, Google should do everything in its power to head off this threat at the pass by offering comparable tools under its own wing.

Bard never looked ready to shoulder that burden, partly due to its unfortunate early days. Helping consumers forget about hallucinations and clunky user interfaces takes more than a new name, but the Gemini-powered system is also getting closer to ChatGPT’s service quality.

So what’s in a name? The star-crossed duel continues, as ChatGPT surely will improve its own experience over time in response to Gemini’s renewed challenge. Alphabet may be fighting for its search-service throne, and investors like you and I can only hope that the effort bears fruit. Forsooth, I tell you, the company is too ingenious and too studied to let OpenAI’s bald-faced challenge spell its doom.

Thanks for the memories, Bard. Now I’ll have to find a different excuse for injecting some Shakespearean fun in these humble columns.