Google announced Bard as an “experiment first” in February and still refers to it as such. I thought this qualifier applied to both the generative nature of AI and its name, which would change when the product graduated.
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I’m no longer sure if he will be replaced following the announcement of “Bard’s Assistant”. Although Google calls it a “first experience,” it was the subject of a fairly high-profile consumer announcement alongside the Pixel 8.
“Bard” is a good name, but I wouldn’t say it’s a good name. If we stick to the definition and the most famous example, bards are storytellers. It’s far from a common word, and my use of Bard (as a tool I run to do things) is not consistent with that definition nor with Google’s opinion that it is something you “collaborate” with. (Meanwhile, Duet AI in the Workspace domain accomplishes this with its name). This particularly does not fit with the company’s typical naming of products based on their primary function.
Having used Bard for a few months, I see the distinction between it and Google Search Generative Experience. To me, SGE is more informational and what you use to search the web, while Bard is the aforementioned tool/utility. I think Google will maintain both products with their different use cases for the foreseeable future. (That said, Google recently updated SGE with text and image generation which I thought would remain Bard’s domain.)
In this regard, “Google Chat” is a more obvious name. (I don’t think renaming the Slack/Teams app first to Workspace is the worst idea, especially since it’s about to get a new icon, new home screen, Duet AI and other features. For me, the name “Chat” was a (It’s a little too casual for its work context, although Google sometimes reminds people that you can use it for personal conversations. Even ” Google Talk” is more suited to the nature of the business since everyone is talking.)
Another suggestion would be for Google to rebrand Bard as Assistant, with the same “g” logo which is already very chatbot in nature. It’s a name that does more than convey its usefulness.
I understand why we have Wizard “with Bard” today, but it’s terribly clunky for something you’re touting as the panacea for people’s complaints about the functional stagnation of today’s Wizard. I have to believe that “with Bard” will eventually disappear a year or two after launch, and that its internal shortcut “AWB” will never gain traction.
It’s a shame that the “new Google Assistant” branding has been removed. (On that note, I remain amazed that the new Assistant remained a Pixel exclusive. Despite all the hype at the time, I thought Google had a clear roadmap to wide availability as a voice assistant capable of do more for you.)
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