Giant tech company Google has updated its AI chatbot, Bard, to help users write programming and software development tasks, including code generation, code debugging, and explanation.
The company through its Group product manager Paige Bailey, revealed via a blog post that the update on Bard was done as it has been one of the top requests it has received from users.
The blog post reads,
“Since we launched Bard, our experiment that lets you collaborate with generative AI, coding has been one of the top requests we have received from users. Starting now, Bard can help with programming and software development tasks, including code generation, debugging, and code explanation.
“We are launching these capabilities in more than 20 programming languages including C++, Go, Java, Javascript, Python, and Typescript. And you can easily export Python code to Google Collab, no copy and paste are required. Bard can also assist with writing functions for Google Sheets.”
In addition, Bard can also help users debug code, even code that is written by the chatbot. Google stated that if Bard presents an error message or code that doesn’t do what a user intended, users can tell Bard to fix the code and it will go ahead to help them debug it.
Investors King understands that Google’s Bard which was rolled out to compete with OpenAI ChatGPT, didn’t quite stack up to its AI chat peers, in terms of features and usability, however, with its latest upgrade to help users write code and programming tasks, it could help Bard keep up with several other AI chatbots.
Currently, Bard is only available to a limited number of users as Google plans a slow rollout to ensure it gives users a top-notch experience. Despite the announcement of Bard’s remarkable abilities, Google has however issued a disclaimer that the chatbot is still prone to errors as it is still an experiment.
Google has further advised users who are using Bard to code to always double-check the AI tool’s responses and carefully test and review code for errors, bugs, and vulnerabilities before relying on it. Google is reportedly pushing ahead with Bard, despite reports of some of its employees criticizing the chatbot, labeling it a “pathological liar”.