Google’s initial launch of Bard, its own “AI” chatbot based on large language models, seemed like an off-the-cuff response to all the traction ChatGPT was getting in the media – complete with Google I/O essentially becoming a ridiculous attempt to steal some of the spotlight.
Well, it’s been a few months and Bard is maturing. Slowly, but surely, more features are being added, which should make it more useful than it’s ever been (not that that’s saying much, but still). The company today unveiled Bard’s “July update” (which strongly implies that it’s getting monthly updates from now on), but before we get into the news, we should talk about availability.
Bard is now finally accessible across Europe, and is also live in Brazil. Therefore, you can use it in over 230 countries and territories around the world, a complete list of which is available here. But perhaps that’s not the most impressive feat. The fact that you can speak to Bard in more than 40 languages may be it. The list is on the same page as the countries.
In terms of new features, Bard now lets you hear its responses and adjust them easily. You have five different tone and style options to go with it: simple, long, short, professional, casual. This feature is currently available in English and will be rolled out to new languages soon.
You can also lock and rename conversations, export Python code to Replit, and use images in your prompts (live in English for now). Sharing part or all of a conversation with Bard is even easier, with shareable links.
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