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Introducing Bard, Google’s Response To ChatGPT

The search giant’s new chatbot is still being tested, but is set to launch in the coming weeks with an API available for developers to build into their own creations.

Published

2 years ago

February 8, 2023

Nour Nasir

introducing bard google's response to chatgpt

As the hype builds around startup OpenAI’s chatbot, ChatGPT, Google is keen to stay ahead of the Microsoft-funded competition. To that end, the search giant will roll out its own version of the technology named Bard over the coming weeks.

Sundar Pichai, Google’s CEO, has announced that Bard is already available to “trusted testers” and is designed to harness the “breadth of the world’s knowledge” behind a conversational-looking interface. Pichai did not announce concrete plans to integrate Bard into the company’s main search box, instead pointing to a novel and more cautious use of the technology to enhance conventional searches.

The news of Google’s foray into chatbot-style AI comes after Microsoft’s recent investment of $10 billion into ChatGPT’s parent company, OpenAI. ChatGPT has grown into an internet sensation over the last few months, however, some experts advise caution after noticing that the bot is prone to making up answers or copying its responses from other online sources.

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Interestingly, the ChatGPT engine is built on top of an AI model known as Transformer, which Google itself first invented. After Google researchers listed severe limitations in the concept in a 2020 paper, two prominent ethical AI researchers, Timnit Gebru and Margaret Mitchell, were fired from the search giant, while others are said to remain frustrated at Google’s hesitancy to harness the technology thoroughly.

So what differences can we expect from Google’s new Bard software when it releases? In Sundar Pichai’s blog post on Monday, the CEO offered the example of asking Bard “to explain discoveries made by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope in a way that a 9-year-old might find interesting”. Bard responds in a conversational bullet-point style, with the first one reading, “In 2023, The JWST spotted several galaxies nicknamed green peas. They were given this name because they are small, round, and green, like peas”.

News

Saudi EV Adoption Accelerates With BYD Expansion & Tesla Launch

Saudi Arabia’s EV market is gaining momentum as BYD plans major showroom growth and Tesla establishes a foothold in Riyadh.

Published

2 days ago

July 16, 2025

Nour Nasir

saudi ev adoption accelerates with byd expansion and tesla launch

Saudi Arabia’s ambitions to become a regional hub for electric mobility are drawing greater investment from global automakers. As part of Vision 2030, the Kingdom is targeting 30% electric vehicle (EV) adoption in the capital, Riyadh, by the end of the decade — an objective that’s now shaping the strategic interests of international EV brands.

Chinese manufacturer BYD is planning a substantial thrust into the Saudi market, building on its current footprint of three showrooms. According to Jerome Saigot, BYD’s managing director in the Kingdom, the company aims to open 10 showrooms by the end of 2026.

“Saudi Arabia is a complex market. You need to go fast. You need to think big,” Saigot recently told reporters. “We are not here to stay at 5,000 or 10,000 cars a year”.

The announcement follows Tesla’s entry into the Saudi EV space, with the US automaker opening its first showroom in Riyadh in April. Tesla joins early players like BYD and Geely in what remains a nascent but strategically important segment for the Kingdom.

The Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) has also ramped up its electric mobility agenda. Its efforts include major investments in Lucid Motors, the creation of local EV brand Ceer, and support for the rollout of national charging infrastructure.

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However, electric vehicles still only account for just over 1% of total car sales in Saudi Arabia, according to data from PwC cited by Bloomberg. Key challenges include high upfront costs, limited public charging access, and the added complexity of operating in extreme heat conditions.

In spite of those hurdles, Saigot views Tesla’s entry as a net positive. “The more Tesla communicates on marketing, the better it is for us,” he said. Saigot joined BYD in April, having previously held executive roles at Nissan and Great Wall Motor.

With multiple brands scaling up activity in parallel — and government-backed infrastructure investment underway — Saudi Arabia’s EV sector appears set for rapid acceleration over the next few years.