Google’s AI Writing Tool, Bard, Expands Language Support and Drops Waitlist

Google's I/O keynote was an AI extravaganza, with the company using the term "AI" 140 times in its two-hour presentation. Google's Bard was one of the first demonstrations of the company battling Microsoft and OpenAI with its own chatbot, and now the Mountain View giant has supercharged the chatbot with new capabilities, removed geographical limitations, and given the chatbot a sweet new dark theme. Let's jump in.

You Can Take Bard for a Spin...from Anywhere Now

When Bard first launched, it was restricted to a waitlist and had a limited release, but Google is now bringing the AI chatbot to 180 countries and regions with no waitlist in the way.

The official announcement of Bard's global expansion was made in a blog post by Sissie Hsiao, Google's Vice President and General Manager for Assistant and Bard. Hsiao stated that Bard is now available in over 180 countries and regions, without the need for a waitlist. The aim of this expansion is to encourage more users to try out Bard and provide feedback to Google, as the company continues to improve and add new features to the chatbot.

Additional Language Support Is Coming Soon

Google has also revealed plans to add language support for Korean and Japanese to Bard. In addition, the company intends to further expand the chatbot's language capabilities, with plans to support an additional 40 languages in the future. This move will enable more users around the world to access and benefit from the features of Bard.

Today we’re removing the waitlist process and making Bard available in over 180 countries and territories, with more coming soon. 🎉#GoogleIO pic.twitter.com/m6HSzScs4P

— Google (@Google) May 10, 2023

There's a Sweet New Dark Theme

I love dark mode on all my devices, and it irks me whenever a service or an application doesn't ship with one. Bard initially left a sour taste in my mouth, not just because of its limited functionality and outright incorrect answers but also because of the blindingly white interface, which my eyes don't want to see.

Bard Will Spew More Visually-Rich Content Soon

Google has also revealed plans to introduce multimodal content to Bard, which will enable the chatbot to deliver answers in a format beyond just text. In an official blog post, Sissie Hsiao announced that Bard's responses and prompts will become more visual in the near future. Users will be able to ask Bard questions that require more than just text-based answers, such as "What are some must-see sights in New Orleans?" and receive rich visuals in response, providing a better understanding of the subject matter.

At present, these rich visuals will primarily consist of pictures, but it is expected that maps, charts, and other visual aids will also be incorporated in the future.

AI didn't steal the show for long (though it did); the company also unveiled a slew of new services and some slick new hardware. We've covered everything in a separate article, so head over there to get the inside scoop on everything that happened at Google I/O.

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