Google is trying to catch up with ChatGPT and plans to release its own chatbot. ChatGPT could disrupt the way consumers search for information and had 57 million unique visitors in December, according to UBS analysts, which could surpass even TikTok in the adoption phase.

The rushed announcement and limited information about Bard suggests that Google responded to OpenAI's ChatGPT launch last year with great urgency. Although the technology behind ChatGPT isn't groundbreaking, OpenAI's decision to make it available on the web has introduced millions of users to this new type of automated text generation. The results are far-reaching, and there are debates about the impact of ChatGPT on education, employment and the future of online search. Google has also stated that the new service draws information directly from the internet, with knowledge of ChatGPT only extending to 2021.

However, large language models like LaMDA and GPT-3.5 (which powers ChatGPT) have shortcomings. Because chatbots learn their skills by analyzing the vast amount of text posted on the Internet, they cannot distinguish between fact and fiction and can produce text that is biased against women and people of color.

Microsoft, which has invested billions of dollars in OpenAI, is integrating ChatGPT into its Bing search engine and other products in its office software suite. Google, meanwhile, points out that it is also already building artificial intelligence into many of its products, including search, and in the past few years, for example, Google has been using AI to aggregate an increasing number of search results by automatically displaying information from web pages rather than having users visit those pages themselves.

Chatbots represent a huge change in the way computer software is created, used and operated. They are poised to transform Internet search engines such as Google Search and Microsoft Bing, talking digital assistants such as Alexa and Siri, and email programs such as Gmail and Outlook.