Google Bard vs ChatGPT: How Marketers Should Think
Google announced Bard yesterday — a conversational AI experience built on its LaMDA family of models, opening in limited testing this week with broader availability planned in the coming weeks. The announcement came two days after Microsoft unveiled Bing Chat and just over two months after ChatGPT crossed one million users. The AI search race is officially on. Here is what marketers should know about Bard, how it compares to ChatGPT, and what to do while both products are still moving fast.
What is Google Bard?
Bard is Google’s conversational AI service, currently in limited testing as of February 6, 2023. It is built on a lightweight version of LaMDA (Language Model for Dialogue Applications), Google’s family of conversational AI models. Bard is positioned as a standalone chat experience that will be integrated into Google search over time.
A direct answer: Google Bard is a conversational AI service announced by Google on February 6, 2023, built on the company’s LaMDA model family. It is initially launching as a standalone product to “trusted testers” with broader public availability planned in the coming weeks. Bard will eventually be integrated into Google search results as well.
The announcement was clearly accelerated by ChatGPT and Bing Chat. The internal “code red” reporting from December suggested Google would respond fast, and February 6 is fast.
How does Bard compare to ChatGPT?
The core comparison points as of early February:
Live web access: Bard is connected to current information. ChatGPT (free) is not.
Citations: Bard’s announcement materials show citations in some answers. ChatGPT does not natively cite.
Underlying model: Bard uses a lightweight LaMDA variant. ChatGPT uses GPT-3.5. Both are large language models trained on web text.
Availability: Bard is in limited testing. ChatGPT is broadly available.
Integration: Bard will be integrated into Google search. ChatGPT is a standalone product.
It is too early to compare output quality fairly because public access is limited. The announcement demos look impressive, but the same was true of every model demo of the last two years.
How does Bard compare to Bing Chat?
Bing Chat launched Tuesday with a similar value proposition: conversational AI inside a search experience, with citations, live web access, and integration with the broader search engine.
The differences:
- Bing Chat is broadly available via waitlist. Bard is in limited testing.
- Bing Chat is built on a next-generation OpenAI model (widely reported as a GPT-4 variant). Bard is built on LaMDA.
- Bing Chat is integrated with Microsoft Edge and Windows. Bard will eventually integrate with Google Search and Workspace.
- Bing Chat has had a rocky first week with reports of strange and combative outputs. Bard has not had a public stumble yet.
The two products will probably converge in capabilities within months. The strategic question is distribution: Google’s search market share is ten times Microsoft’s, which means whatever Google ships into the SERP reaches more users by default.
What should marketers do right now?
Three concrete actions for February 2023:
Get on every waitlist. Bard, Bing Chat, Perplexity, You.com, anything else credible. Use them. Watch how they cite sources and how the user experience feels.
Audit your content for citation-readiness. Clear H2 questions, direct answers, schema, authoritative facts. Same playbook that helped with featured snippets, now extended.
Pause big content investments that depend on top-of-funnel informational traffic. Until the AI search behavior shakes out, the safe bets are content that converts visitors who do click through, not content that depends on volume from broad informational queries.
A direct answer: Marketers should test every AI search product in February 2023, audit their content for citation-friendly structure, and prepare for a likely 18-month transition in how informational queries are answered. The fundamentals — authority, structure, schema, direct answers — still apply. The traffic mix is going to change.
Is informational SEO traffic going to disappear?
Not disappear, but compress. Queries that have a single definitive answer (“what time does the Super Bowl start?”) were already largely zero-click. Queries that benefit from comparison and synthesis (“best CRM for a 5-person sales team”) are where AI search will absorb more value.
In our portfolio of small business clients, informational traffic is roughly 35% of organic visits and converts at a lower rate than commercial traffic. The compression there is uncomfortable but not catastrophic. Commercial and local intent traffic is largely insulated, at least for now.
What happens to featured snippets and PAA?
Featured snippets and People Also Ask boxes are essentially proto-conversational-AI experiences. They surface direct answers without requiring a click. As Bard and Bing Chat mature, expect these surfaces to evolve toward fuller AI-generated answers with citations.
The optimization play does not change much. Content built to win featured snippets is content built to be cited in conversational AI answers.
Should you be worried about hallucinations?
Yes, but not for the reason you think. Bard’s announcement demo this week reportedly included a factual error about the James Webb Space Telescope — caught by astronomers within hours. The cost: Alphabet’s market cap dropped roughly $100 billion the next day.
A direct answer: Hallucination is the central technical problem with current-generation language models. Both Bard and ChatGPT will confidently produce inaccurate claims. The marketing implication is that any AI-assisted content must have a human fact-checker before publication.
For brands, the second worry is being misrepresented in AI answers. Until citation systems mature and brands have meaningful recourse, expect some friction.
What is the longer-term outlook?
The 18-month outlook, as we read it in February 2023:
- AI search experiences proliferate across Google, Bing, Perplexity, and at least one new entrant
- Click-through rates on informational queries drop further
- Citation behavior becomes a measurable SEO signal
- E-E-A-T (expertise, experience, authoritativeness, trust) gets more important, not less
- Smaller publishers without strong brand authority lose ground to recognized authorities
- AI-assisted content production becomes the norm, with human review
What about local SEO?
Local pack experiences in Google and Bing Maps are largely insulated from this wave so far. Bard’s announcement did not mention local search prominently. Bing Chat in our testing usually defaults to traditional local results.
That said, the underlying signals — accurate NAP, strong reviews, structured business data — translate well to AI systems that need verifiable facts about a business. Local SEO discipline is still the foundation.
Where should you focus?
For help auditing your content and presence for the AI search transition, see our SEO services, local SEO services, or browse Frostbite locations by state.
Where can I read more?
Google’s Bard announcement post is the primary source. Search Engine Journal’s Bard coverage has been updated as new details emerge.
FAQs
When can I use Bard?
Bard is in limited testing as of February 2023. Google has said broader public access will follow in the coming weeks. There is no waitlist signup yet.
Is Bard better than ChatGPT?
Too early to say fairly. The announcement demos are impressive but public testing is limited. Bing Chat is currently the closest direct competitor.
Will Bard replace Google search?
No. Bard will be integrated alongside traditional Google search results, not replace them. Both surfaces will coexist.
Should I be worried about my SEO traffic?
Informational query volume will compress. Commercial and local intent traffic should be more durable. Audit your traffic mix and plan accordingly.
What is the single most useful thing I can do this month?
Audit your top SEO pages for clear question-and-direct-answer structure. That format wins in featured snippets, in Bing Chat citations, and will likely win in Bard.
The AI search race went from theoretical to active in 72 hours. If you want a hand auditing your content for citation-readiness, request a Frostbite SEO snapshot.
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