Google not too long ago rolled out a number of updates to Bard, its AI chatbot. The brand new options embrace extensions that join Bard to extra features of Google’s portfolio, like Gmail, Docs, and YouTube. The corporate is continuous to experiment with synthetic intelligence as a part of the next wave of information retrieval.
Though my preliminary impressions of Bard’s extensions are underwhelming, anybody with plenty of unread Gmail messages or a group of historical Google Docs to sift by way of could discover the replace considerably fascinating.
It’s value mulling over the privacy implications earlier than interacting with any chatbot, although. “If you happen to select to make use of the Workspace extensions, your content material from Gmail, Docs and Drive will not be seen by human reviewers, utilized by Bard to point out you advertisements, or used to coach the Bard mannequin,” reads Google’s announcement. Is that sufficient assurance for you? Right here’s the right way to allow the updates for Bard and a few recommendation to remember.
Learn how to Use Extensions for Google Bard
It is advisable create a Google account to work together with Bard, in case you don’t have already got one. When you’re logged in, accessing Bard is so simple as visiting the website in your browser.
On the principle web page for Bard, you may activate connections to Google Flights, Google Hotels, Google Maps, YouTube, and Google Workspace, which incorporates Gmail, Google Docs, and Google Drive. Every of those extensions will be turned on and off individually.
If you happen to determine to activate the Workspace extension, be sure that to tag no matter you’d just like the chatbot to give attention to, like @docs, @drive, or @gmail. Right here’s an example prompt: “Please test my @gmail and summarize the unread emails from at the moment.”
Recommendation for Discovering Gmail Messages and Google Docs
It’s essential to maintain expectations low when interacting with the brand new Bard extensions. Many AI options launched in 2023 have been labeled as experiments, and Bard’s replace is not any exception. It goals to prioritize probably the most recent emails in your Gmail. Whereas answering questions for me, Bard typically referenced 5 associated messages. However once I requested it to call the oldest message in my inbox from WIRED, the chatbot cited an electronic mail from final week. Simply a few years off!
When you ought to all the time double-check info you get from a chatbot, Bard with extensions appeared to hallucinate very often and misunderstand the context of data it had pulled from my emails and different paperwork. As an example, once I requested if there have been any messages from my dad, Bard pulled a random Father’s Day promotion that had been lingering in my inbox since 2017 and labeled it as the one message from him.
So, how can the Bard extensions be helpful of their present, messy state? Do you’ve got an electronic mail or doc that you just’re attempting to find, however you don’t actually bear in mind the specifics, aside from the subject lined? This looks like the right use for the brand new Bard. From video games to swimming swimming pools, the chatbot was capable of finding info associated to a number of matters I requested.