Google Bard is here. Catch up on everything you need to know about the ChatGPT alternative.

• Google debuted its AI chatbot Bard this week with a nod to the unpredictability of AI chatbot responses.

• Bard works like OpenAI's ChatGPT and Microsoft's Bing chatbot, but can give multiple responses to a prompt.

• Here's how users have reacted so far, and what it all could mean for Google's place in the AI wars.

When Google rolled out its new AI chatbot Bard to the public this week, it had the advantage of learning from reactions to OpenAI's ChatGPT and Microsoft's new Bing chatbot.

Users experimenting with ChatGPT and Bing have in recent months detailed their weird interactions with the AI chatbots, which can project sentience with their conversational responses but are often just delivering data while predicting what words to say to make sense.

The Bard experience seems conscious of it. If you've gotten through the waitlist to use it, you were likely greeted right away by the message that "Bard may give inaccurate or inappropriate responses," and that it will get better as users engage with it and flag issues.

A brief test of Bard showed it handling Insider's solar system trivia questions with ease, and making cautious predictions about the March Madness basketball tournament ("Houston is the favorite to win the national championship. They have a strong team with a lot of experience," Bard said.)

But it balked at getting personal. Although Bard access is granted through a user's gmail account, Bard told this reporter it couldn't look at "personal information, including your name."

Google had also moved to reassure users this week that Bard "is not trained on Gmail data," according to a tweet.

Some users sharing their own initial impressions have written that they weren't quite impressed so far. Google seems to have signaled it is taking a patient approach to developing the technology over time.

"While we're at an important inflection point and encouraged by the widespread excitement around generative AI, it's still early days for this technology," James Manyika, Google's SVP of technology and society wrote in a sheet explaining Bard.

Read Insider's coverage so far of Bard:

Bard basics, rollout, and reactions 

Google just took the wraps off its long-awaited ChatGPT rival: Meet Bard

Google's Bard AI chatbot is now open to users in the US and UK. Here's how it works

Google's new Bard chatbot told an AI expert it was trained using Gmail data. The company says that's inaccurate and Bard 'will make mistakes.'

Google's new AI bot Bard just debuted and it's already warning about its creator's 'monopoly' over ads

How Google is taking on competitors in the generative AI wars  

Google Bard is already behind in the AI wars with OpenAI and Microsoft

Google is facing its first real competition in search

Don't count out Google in the AI race, and the stock sell-off after its Bard chatbot snafu was an overreaction, Gene Munster says

How Google's employees are experiencing this moment

Google CEO tells employees 'things will go wrong' as the public tests its ChatGPT rival Bard

Google employees are already internally testing a smarter version of its chatbot called 'Big Bard'

Leaked messages show Googlers are taking out their frustrations over layoffs on its new Bard AI chatbot

Googlers are begrudgingly testing Bard and making memes out of their new task.

Google asked staff to spend time teaching its Bard chatbot to write like a human. AI researchers explain how it works.

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