New Bard extensions can read your Gmail to aid in trip planning and other tasks. They also function with Docs, Drive, and YouTube.
Google has initiated the rollout of a significant update to its Bard AI chatbot.
Today, the search engine giant will launch a new feature dubbed Bard Extensions. The functionality enables the chatbot to pull real-time data from other Google applications and services, including Gmail, Drive, Maps, YouTube, and Flights, to provide personalized responses to users. At the same time, it permits Bard to answer queries that are more complex than ever before. According to the company, it is now possible to request that Bard create a personalized travel itinerary by accessing dates from your Gmail account and combining that information with data from Google Flights and other Google services, all with a single prompt.
New Bard extensions
Google informs users who are concerned about the privacy implications of Bard Extensions that they can disable the feature at any time. “We are devoted to safeguarding your personal data. If you choose to use the Workspace extensions, your Gmail, Docs, and Drive content will not be seen by human reviewers, used by Bard to show you advertisements, or used to train the Bard model, according to Yury Pinsky, director of product management for Bard at Google.
Separately, Google is introducing a feature that enables users to request Bard to substantiate its answers. The chatbot will now search the web for information to support its most recent response when the G icon is tapped. If Bard discovers information that contradicts a portion of its response, the passage will be highlighted in orange. In contrast, statements supported by the findings will be highlighted in green. Either way, tapping a highlighted phrase enables the user to learn more about what Bard found. During its first public demonstration, the chatbot infamously failed to correctly answer a query about the James Webb Space Telescope.
Both features are currently being made available to English-speaking users. Google is also expanding Bard’s existing range of features to more than 40 languages.
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