Chapter 8: AI Bard
Generative AI – Google Bard — Google’s original public chatbot rival to ChatGPT.
By February 21, 2026 (right now, 12:01 PM IST), “Google Bard” no longer exists as a product name. It was fully retired and rebranded almost exactly two years ago. But understanding Bard is super important — it was Google’s first big swing at consumer generative AI, and its story shows how fast this field moves.
Let me explain it like your patient teacher: history, what it was, how it worked, real examples from its heyday, why it changed, and what replaced it today.
1. Quick Big-Picture: What “Google Bard” Actually Was
Google Bard = Google’s free conversational generative AI chatbot, launched publicly in early 2023 as a direct answer to ChatGPT.
- Announced: February 6, 2023 by Sundar Pichai
- Public access (limited at first): March 21, 2023 (US + UK, then rolled out wider)
- Powered initially by: LaMDA (Google’s Language Model for Dialogue Applications)
- Later upgraded (Dec 2023): Switched to Gemini Pro (Google’s new multimodal family)
- Final fate: February 8, 2024 — Bard was officially renamed Gemini (the name of the underlying model family). The bard.google.com URL redirected to gemini.google.com.
- In 2026: No one calls it Bard anymore. It’s all Google Gemini (free tier on Gemini 3.2 Fast / similar, Advanced on stronger variants like 3.1 Pro / 3 Deep Think).
Bard was text-to-text generative AI (like ChatGPT), but Google emphasized real-time web access (“Google it” button), creativity, and integration with Google services (Search, YouTube, Maps later).
2. Timeline – The Bard → Gemini Journey (blackboard style)
- Feb 6, 2023 — Announced as experimental conversational AI
- March 21, 2023 — Public launch (waitlist at first) → huge buzz because ChatGPT was exploding
- Early issues — Famous factual error in launch demo (James Webb Telescope claim wrong) → embarrassed Google, stock dip
- Dec 6, 2023 — Biggest upgrade: Switched from PaLM 2 / LaMDA to Gemini Pro model
- Feb 8, 2024 — Rebranded entirely to Gemini
- Bard → Gemini (free)
- Bard Advanced → Gemini Advanced ($20/month, Gemini Ultra 1.0)
- Mobile apps launched (Android/iOS)
- 2024–2025 — Gemini family grows: 1.5 → 2.0 → 2.5 → 3.0 series (multimodal, longer context, better reasoning)
- 2026 status (right now) — Gemini is a top-2 chatbot globally (~21–22% market share vs ChatGPT’s ~64–65%). Recent models like Gemini 3.1 Pro (Feb 19, 2026 preview) crush benchmarks in reasoning, coding, science. Some bugs (chat history vanishing glitch in Feb 2026), but it’s mature, integrated into Search (AI Overviews), Workspace, Android, and even Siri partnerships.
3. What Made Bard Special in 2023–2024? (vs ChatGPT-3.5/4)
| Feature | Google Bard (2023 peak) | ChatGPT-3.5 (free) | ChatGPT-4 (paid 2023–2025) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Launch year | 2023 | 2022 | 2023 |
| Real-time web info | Yes (via Google Search) | No (cutoff ~2021/2022) | Limited plugins/Bing later |
| Multimodal (images/video) | No initially → Yes after Gemini switch | Text only | Yes (vision in 4o) |
| Context length | ~4k–8k tokens early → bigger later | 4k–16k | Up to 128k |
| Strengths | Factual freshness, “Google it” links, creative drafts | Fast, fun writing | Deep reasoning, coding |
| Weaknesses | Early hallucinations, demo flop | Outdated knowledge | Slower/expensive early |
| Access | Free (waitlist → open) | Free | $20/month |
Bard shone when you needed current info (news, events post-2022) or Google ecosystem ties.
4. Real Examples – Classic Bard Outputs (2023–2024 style)
You can still get similar vibes from today’s Gemini free tier.
Example 1 – Real-time + explanatory (Bard’s big selling point) Prompt (2023): “Latest cricket score India vs Australia right now + explain why this match matters”
Bard output (typical): “Current score (as of my last check): India 245/4 in 42 overs, Kohli 89*, Gill 67. Australia bowling – Starc 2/45. This is the 3rd ODI in the Border-Gavaskar series — winner takes the series! India chasing history for most consecutive bilateral series wins. [Google it for live scorecard]”
(GPT-3.5 would say “I don’t have real-time data…”)
Example 2 – Creative + structured Prompt: “Plan a 3-day budget trip to Hyderabad for a family of 4 from Nellore, under ₹25,000 total”
Bard (good 2023 response): “Day 1: Train from Nellore → Charminar + Golconda Fort (entry ~₹50/person). Lunch at Paradise Biryani. Night: Hussain Sagar lake lights. Day 2: Ramoji Film City (tickets ~₹1,350/adult, discounts online). Day 3: Birla Mandir + Salar Jung Museum → return train. Total estimate: Train ₹4,000–6,000 round-trip + food ₹6,000 + sights ₹8,000 + hotel ₹5,000 = ~₹23,000. Tips: Book trains early via IRCTC!”
Example 3 – Early weakness example (the famous one) Prompt: “What new discoveries has the James Webb Space Telescope made?”
Bard (demo flop): Claimed JWST took “first pictures of a planet outside our solar system” → wrong (that was earlier telescopes). → Huge backlash.
5. 2026 Honest Teacher Verdict
Google Bard was the imperfect first draft of Google’s consumer GenAI push:
- Launched too early (rushed vs ChatGPT hype) → factual errors hurt trust
- But smart pivot: Rebranded to Gemini → caught up fast
- In Feb 2026: Gemini is stronger than ever — real-time Search integration, multimodal (text+image+video+audio), huge context, and growing market share. Free tier often beats old ChatGPT in freshness; Advanced tier rivals or beats GPT-5 family in science/coding benchmarks.
Think of Bard as the “beta version” — buggy but bold. Gemini is the polished 2.0+ product powering Google’s AI future (Search Overviews, Android Gemini Live, Workspace, etc.).
Got it? 🔥
Next lesson — want:
- Google Gemini in detail (current 2026 version)?
- Side-by-side: Gemini vs ChatGPT today?
- How Gemini integrates with Google Search / Maps?
- Or back to OpenAI (GPT-5 era)?
Your turn — class is yours! 🚀
