Google Bard destined to overtake ChatGPT if fully rolled out, expert says

Microsoft-backed ChatGPT reached 100 million users in just two months, but a competing chatbot from Google, called Bard, could gain at least 1 billion if fully rolled out.

ChatGPT, a viral chatbot from OpenAI, has witnessed record user growth, reaching a 100 million milestone just two months after launch – and continues to expand rapidly.

Its growth could pale in comparison to Bard, a rival chatbot announced this week by Google, according to Jim Fan, an AI scientist at Nvidia.

“Google Bard, if fully rolled out, will reach at least 1 billion users,” Fan said in a Twitter thread, adding that this was an “underestimate.”

Still, he stressed that the emphasis should be on the if, as some skeptics pointed out that ChatGPT’s growth is organic. At the same time, Google has a history of flopping on some potentially successful products that failed to capitalize on its large user base.

Fan’s assumption is based on Google’s plans to integrate Bard into its behemoth search engine, still by far the most popular in the world. The company said it would start rolling out AI features “soon.”

Microsoft also announced it would meld ChatGPT into its Bing search engine and Edge browser, but the move might not have the same impact.

Google’s global desktop search market share was over 84% in December, according to Statista. In comparison, Microsoft’s Bing – the second most popular search engine – had just under 9%.

The numbers are not in Microsoft’s favor regarding browsers either: Chrome dominates the market, while fewer people use Edge than second-placed Safari.

“Bard will be integrated with Search, so a Google search user will essentially be using Bard. Unlike ChatGPT, Google doesn’t need to gain users. They just need to roll out to existing search boxes,” Fan said.

The growth of ChatGPT was still remarkable, Fan said, adding: “We are witnessing two largest deployments of big neural nets in history. A dance of giants.”