ChatGPT vs. Bard: What’s the Difference?

ChatGPT was the original AI chatbot, but it now has competition from Google Bard. We compared ChatGPT vs. Bard regarding factual accuracy, conversation skills, and what they can do in the workplace to help you decide which works best for specific situations.

Overall Findings

ChatGPT and Bard are both chatbots powered by artificial intelligence. On the surface, they are pretty similar and can perform many of the same tasks. That said, they each have their strengths.

While ChatGPT is more geared toward productivity, you can think of Bard as a mix between a search engine and a virtual assistant. Bard is more helpful if you have a specific question, while ChatGPT is better equipped for generating ideas and content.

Both chatbots are easy to access and use and are equally fast at responding to queries. You’ll need to create a Google account to use Bard, but that only takes a few minutes if you don’t already have one. With ChatGPT, you can use any email address (including your work email) to sign up and get started immediately.

Factual Accuracy: Google Bard Is More Trustworthy

The most significant benefit of Bard is that it draws real-time information from the internet for its responses. ChatGPT, on the other hand, is trained with a finite set of data that hasn’t been updated since 2021. Therefore, Bard gives more up-to-date answers to topical questions.

Another advantage of Bard is that you can see different “drafts,” or variations, of responses. ChatGPT gives a singular (and often shorter) response to queries. Both chatbots rely on the same sources, including Wikipedia, Common Crawl, and reputable articles from the web. Bard is likelier to cite sources in its answers, whereas ChatGPT typically states things as facts without providing a source.

If you want to know how to do something, Google Bard gives more precise instructions. Bard is also better at summarizing complex concepts, so if you have a question about something you don’t understand, Bard will generally give you a more helpful answer.

Conversation: Bard Has More Personality

If you’re in the mood for small talk, you’ll get more out of Bard than ChatGPT. Bard’s responses seem more human, while ChatGPT is all business. When asked if it’s sentient, ChatGPT gives a definitive “no,” while Bard says it’s unsure, citing the philosophical debates about the meaning of “sentience.”

ChatGPT seems more thoughtful regarding complicated ethical questions, drawing upon philosophical concepts to reach its conclusions. Bard gives vague answers to subjective questions about ethics and morality.

ChatGPT tends to stick to the facts (pre-2021), yet Bard is more conversational and gives more in-depth answers. Bard’s responses are typically better formatted and easier to read. ChatGPT sometimes writes long paragraphs and isn’t as consistent in its formatting.

While Bard can learn new facts from the internet, ChatGPT learns from the conversations it has, so don’t tell it anything you don’t want the world to know!

Productivity: You Can Do More With ChatGPT

ChatGPT and Bard can be extremely helpful in the workplace. AI chatbots can perform mundane tasks like drafting emails, blog posts, social media posts, product descriptions, and legal briefs. Both chatbots have coding capabilities, but ChatGPT is generally better at creative tasks. Bard is better at summarizing transcripts of meetings, lectures, and speeches.

There are also ChatGPT plug-ins that add functionality. For example, the ChatGPt plug-in for Microsoft Teams can make schedules, draft agendas, send reminder emails, and automatically respond to project-related questions. Since Bard integrates with your Google Account, you can use Bard to write emails and even use Bard in Google Docs.

Final Verdict

Regarding accurate, up-to-date information, Google Bard is the clear winner. However, ChatGPT is better suited for productivity and creative tasks.

Don’t depend on one chatbot for all your information—experiment by giving both chatbots the same question to see the differences in responses. There are plenty of other chatbots to try, like Bing AI and DuckAssist.