What’s the difference and which one to use?

In an unexpected twist, Microsoft beat Google in the AI ​​chatbot race when it announced Bing Chat in early 2023. Although Google teased its LaMDA language model several years earlier, it hadn’t revealed any plans for a publicly-facing product yet. But the search giant took little time to react after Microsoft’s announcement and its Bard AI chatbot now competes directly with Bing Chat.

Neither chatbot has escaped controversy, with Bard being one critical error during his debut demo. Bing Chat seemed confronting to some users at first. However, that doesn’t take away from their impressive capabilities and possible upgrades ChatGPT. But with two similar choices available, you may be wondering, does one work better than the other? Let’s break down the differences between Google Bard and Bing Chat.

Unlike ChatGPT, which has a knowledge cut-off date of September 2021, both Google Bard and Bing Chat can search the web for the latest information. That doesn’t mean they’re equally capable, though. More about that later.

For now, know that Bing Chat offers three different conversation styles or modes to choose from. In creative mode, for example, the chatbot can let its imagination run wild. This makes it perfect for generating essays, poems and stories. The other modes, Balanced and Precise, force Bing Chat to stick to the facts and end comments as quickly as possible.

But before we talk further about their technical differences, let’s take a look at some real-world comparisons of Google Bard vs Bing Chat.

In this first example, I asked Bard and Bing Chat to list some highlights from Steve Jobs’ life for a possible biography. I thought this would be a good way to make writing long content easier. Much to my surprise, however, Google’s chatbot simply refused to obey until I rephrased my request. Meanwhile, Bing Chat didn’t hesitate and self-generated a fairly detailed summary of the first attempt.

I then asked both chatbots to elaborate on the first part of the biography. Once again, Bard messed up and responded by introducing himself. When I typed the same prompt into Bing Chat, it understood my intent just fine and generated the section perfectly. I’m not sure why Bard failed twice, but let’s move on now.

For our next example, I asked the chatbots to compare two smartphones from 2023: the Galaxy S23Ultra and the OnePlus 11. Bard responded with a neat comparison chart, while Bing Chat provided three short paragraphs. Note that Google’s chatbot did not include a single quote, while Bard cited his sources throughout the text and linked them at the end.

As for the factual content, Bard falsely stated that the OnePlus 11 uses the latest generation Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip. It also claimed that the phone came with Android 12 instead of Android 13. In other words, two glaring errors. The response also contained no mention of Samsung’s S-Pen.

Bing Chat, on the other hand, didn’t provide its answer in an easily digestible format. Despite their short length, the three paragraphs were not as convenient to read as a table. However, it did nothing wrong and also pointed out the lack of a stylus on the OnePlus 11.

I gave Bard one last chance at redemption by asking if he was sure about the processor. And luckily it came to its senses and acknowledged that the OnePlus 11 contains a newer chip.

From these examples alone, it’s clear that Bing Chat has the lead in terms of accuracy, even though both chatbots can search the wider internet.

For our last example, let’s ask how long it takes to charge the Galaxy S23 Ultra from 0-100. There are two ways to answer this question: you can take Samsung’s marketing at face value or look at reviews and test data.

Bing Chat chose to read our coverage and correctly stated that it takes approx 57 minutes to fully charge a Galaxy S23 Ultra. It also linked back to the article for context. Bard, meanwhile, gave the same answer, but gave no source. And when asked to cite its sources, Google’s chatbot simply said it’s “beyond my capabilities.”

While both chatbots may look similar on the surface, they are actually based on completely different platforms under the hood.

For example, Bing Chat relies on OpenAIs GPT-4 language model. That’s technically a more advanced model than ChatGPT, thanks to Microsoft’s $10 billion investment in OpenAI. Google instead has LaMDA, which it developed in-house. In terms of how they stack up against each other, OpenAI’s earlier GPT-3 model boasted 175 billion parameters, while Google’s LaMDA stood at 137 billion in early 2022.

It is worth noting that you cannot compare large language models based on their parameters alone, as the quality of the training also matters. That said, Bing Chat and GPT-4 have a clear edge on paper and that could explain why Google Bard has many restrictions.

Google Bard vs Bing Chat: Languages, Image Generation, Coding

Google currently only allows you to chat with Bard in English. That may not sound like a big deal until you realize that Bing Chat supports nearly a dozen languages ​​and possibly many more unofficially.

Bing Chat also has another advantage over Bard: it can generate images. It’s not quite as capable as Midjourney, an AI tool dedicated to this task, but it still does a good enough job. Here’s an example:

As for coding, Bard can only compile rudimentary programs for beginners. Even then, we’ve found that the quality of the code is mostly just unusable. Google has acknowledged that Bard is not currently designed to write code and will improve in the future.

On the other hand, Bing Chat can actually generate usable code that usually comes close to the intended result. However, it can sometimes feel limited for this task due to the short output in balanced mode. As we mentioned in our post on ChatGPT vs Bing Chatis the character limit of the former much more generous.

Google and Microsoft have both opted to limit the initial availability of their chatbots. In other words, you must join a waiting list before you can use Bard or Bing Chat. Both companies have emphasized that they are still actively collecting feedback and releasing regular updates.

The good news is that both Bard and Bing Chat are free to use. Once you sign up for either waiting list, you can expect a response within a few days. However, there is one major caveat with Bard: you can only sign up if you live in the US or UK.

Once you access Bing Chat, you can use it across platforms, including web, mobile, Edge web browser, and even Skype group chats. It also supports two-way talk, meaning you can use it completely hands-free. This brings Bing Chat a lot closer to Google Assistantminus any smart home controls.

For now, Google hasn’t been very ambitious in rolling out Bard to the general public. You can only access it through a website, just like ChatGPT. Don’t expect a mobile app or even Google Search integration at this point, though we may see the latter one day.