Google Bard is getting “Extensions” similar to ChatGPT’s Plugins
Google’s ChatGPT rival, Bard, has been steadily getting more and more capable with every new update. Back in May, the company announced new abilities for Bard, including image replies and coding abilities, and 3rd party integration. The latter of which is finally making its way into Bard. With this, Bard will be integrated into a bunch of Google and other third-party apps. Let’s learn more about these “extensions” coming to Google Bard.
Google Bard Extensions: Overview
A few months ago, the VP of Google Assistant and Bard, Sissie Hsiao, mentioned the integration of various Google services like Google Lens, Docs, Drive, Gmail, and Maps into Bard in the near future. Furthermore, she also mentioned 3rd party integration with other services like Adobe Firefly. And it looks like that might come sooner than expected.
Folks over at 9to5Google were able to “enable an early preview” of extensions in Google Bard. And although they are non-functional, they managed to spot nine of these extensions. Including:
- Google Flights
- Google Hotels
- Google Maps
- Instacart
- Kayak
- OpenTable
- Redfin
- YouTube
- Zillow
Image: 9to5Google
How do Google Bard extensions work?
As seen from the image above, there’s also a short descriptor and a sample quote on each extension to make the best of the tool. For instance, the description for Instacart reads “Create shipping lists on Instacart to easily shop for ingredients.” And the sample prompt provided is “Create a shipping list for groceries. I want to add cereal, eggs, and bananas to it.” You can also choose to enable or disable these extensions as needed.
What’s next?
With extensions on the horizon, Google Bard might finally be on par with ChatGPT and its plugins. Though ChatGPT’s Plugins rolled out much sooner, they are far from optimized and still in Beta. So if Google can work with third parties to deliver a superior product right out of the gate, Bard might even be able to pull ahead. And though this “find” is still unofficial, I hope extensions roll out soon enough.
