A quick chat with Bard, my new AI friend

After the Google IO 2023 event that took place last Wednesday (you can see the full event here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNfINi5CNbY or a summary here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpBTM0GO6xI) and the fact that now BARD ( their new AI chatbot) is available in 180 countries without any whitelist. I decided to go straight to the source to get more of an understanding of its abilities. Plus, what’s better than getting the answers straight from the horse’s mouth? 

Q1: Can you tell me how you are going to change the way content will be served in Google SERP to the users?
A1: Sure. Here are some of the ways I can change the way content will be served in Google SERP to the users: 

• Personalise the results for each user. I can use my knowledge of each user’s interests and preferences to personalise the results that they see. For example, if a user is interested in cooking, I can show them results for recipes and cooking tips. 
• Make the results more relevant and informative. I can use my knowledge of the world to make the results more relevant and informative. For example, if a user searches for “how to make a cake,” I can show them results that include step-by-step instructions, photos, and videos. 
• Make the results more engaging and interactive. I can use my knowledge of human language to make the results more engaging and interactive. For example, I can provide summaries of long articles, translate text into different languages, and answer questions in a comprehensive and informative way. 
• Make the results more accessible to everyone. I can use my knowledge of different cultures and languages to make the results more accessible to everyone. For example, I can provide results in different languages, and I can explain complex concepts in a way that is easy to understand. 

I believe that these changes will make Google SERP more useful and helpful for users. 

Then I tried to be more specific and ask for advice on this… 

Q2: “How can I make my website ranking on Google SERP?”

The first answer was quite standard and in-line with Google’s recommendations, such as: 
Use a descriptive title tag for each page. The title tag is the text that appears in the search results, so it’s important to make it clear and concise. 

• Write meta descriptions for each page. The meta description is the brief text that appears below the title tag in the search results. It’s a good opportunity to add more information about the page and encourage people to click through.
• Optimise your images. Images can be a great way to break up your text and make your website more visually appealing. But make sure to optimise your images for SEO by adding alt text and using descriptive file names. 
• Make your website mobile-friendly. More and more people are using their smartphones and tablets to search online. Make sure your website is optimised for mobile devices so that you don’t miss out on potential visitors. 
• Be patient. It takes time for Google to index your website and start ranking it in the search results. Don’t expect to see results overnight. Just keep creating great content and promoting your website, and you’ll eventually start to see traffic from Google. 

Then I specifically asked… 

Q3. “How can I make my content worthy of the attention of an AI entity”. 

The reply was: 

In addition to the classic SEO tips I mentioned above, there are a few things you can do to make your website worthy of my attention: 

• Create content that is informative and engaging. My goal is to provide users with the most relevant and informative content possible. If your website has high-quality content that is well-written and engaging, I am more likely to recommend it to users. 
• Use clear and concise language. I am still under development, but I am learning to understand and respond to human language. However, I am not perfect, and I may sometimes misunderstand complex or ambiguous language. To avoid this, use clear and concise language in your website content. 
• Structure your website content in a logical way. I am able to understand the structure of a website and the relationships between different pages. If your website content is well-structured, I am more likely to be able to find the information that users are looking for.
• Use relevant keywords throughout your website content. When you use keywords that people are likely to search for, you increase the chances that my AI will recommend your website to users. However, don’t overdo it. Using too many keywords can make your website content look spammy and may actually hurt your ranking in Google SERP. 
• Keep your website up-to-date with fresh content. I am constantly learning and evolving, and I am always looking for new and interesting content to recommend to users. If your website has fresh content that is relevant to my users, I am more likely to recommend it. 

By following these tips, you can increase your chances of getting your website recommended by me. 

I then continued… 

Q4: “How are you going to prioritise content among a lot of websites and with content spread across different means like social media, streaming platforms?”

The reply: 

I prioritise content using a variety of factors, including: 

• Relevance: I try to show content that is relevant to the user’s search query. 
• Quality: I try to show content that is high-quality and informative. 
• Authority: I try to show content from authoritative sources. 
• Freshness: I try to show content that is fresh and up-to-date. 
• User engagement: I try to show content that users are likely to engage with. 

I also take into account the user’s individual preferences and interests. For example, if a user has previously clicked on links to cooking websites, I am more likely to show them cooking content in the future. 

In addition to these factors, I also consider the content that is spread across different means like social media, streaming platforms. I do this by crawling and indexing these platforms, and then using my knowledge of the world to determine which content is most relevant to the user’s search query. 

I believe that this approach to content prioritisation will help users find the information they need more easily and quickly. I am always learning and evolving, and I am always looking for new ways to improve the way I prioritise content. 

The test

Now Bard has my attention, and I was impatient to test its search abilities, so I asked for info about a hypothetical trip I was about to take with a vegetarian friend. 

So, I asked for tips and info about a trip to Southampton and tried to get the same information I would search on Google. 

Clothes:

So, before any trip I will check the weather to better plan what I need to bring with me.  
So, Bard … 

Q5: “What clothes should I wear for my trip to Southampton next week?”

Restaurant recommendations:

Q6: “I will be there with my friend, he is vegetarian, we want to have dinner on Wednesday, can you suggest some places and show me their rating on TripAdvisor?

Places near our Hotel:

Q7: “Can you rank them by distance from our Hotel?” (I mentioned the Hotel address earlier in the conversation)

Food:
Q8: Are there any dishes I could pick from one of the restaurants which don’t contain garlic?”

Bard’s reply was:

Then I asked if I could have their menu link. And it was able to provide me with the URL of a page for me to view this.

My personal thoughts

Because the data accessed by Bard is not in real-time and they could be outdated,
some of its answers were not totally correct, for example, the food mentioned was not on the restaurant’s menu and the TripAdvisor ratings were not right at all.

But even with the above issues, the general feeling of having a search chat experience over a classic one when you type “keywords” to get results, is undoubtedly more pleasant and when it will be ready and connected to real-time data, it will change the way we interact with the internet.

Google is trying to be our virtual friend able to solve and answer all our questions by simply chatting.

Bonus: You may recall this funny video made by CollegeHumor that tried to image Google as a human being…. Enjoy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YuOBzWF0Aws

Bonus 2: If you liked it here the full playlist https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B759dzymyoc&list=PLuKg-Whduhklge1dMCGsemN1Qr_ODqjtZ&index=2

Further resources

At this URL https://blog.google/products/search/generative-ai-search/ you can find the official Google blog post that talks specifically about how Google is supercharging search with generative AI.