Google’s Bard Chatbot Upgrade May No Longer Be Free, Sparking Curiosity About Subscription Plans
Google’s popular chatbot, Bard, may soon require users to pay for its upgraded version, according to recent findings by developer Bedros Pamboukian. The discovery of code snippets on the Google Bard website suggests that users may be offered a three-month trial of Bard Advanced, after which they would need to subscribe to continue accessing the advanced features. The exact release date for Bard Advanced is still uncertain, as Google initially announced an early 2024 launch.
In addition to uncovering the potential subscription model for Bard Advanced, Pamboukian also found a broken URL that hints at a possible connection between Bard and Google’s subscription service, Google One. It is speculated that Bard Advanced may be bundled with a Google One subscription or offered as a standalone purchase option.
This news comes shortly after Google revealed its most powerful language model yet, called Gemini. Gemini is designed to be multimodal and comes in three sizes: Ultra, Pro, and Nano. According to Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Gemini Ultra outperforms human experts on a wide range of language understanding tasks.
The possibility of Bard Advanced moving to a subscription-based model has sparked curiosity among users who have grown accustomed to accessing the chatbot’s advanced functionality for free. While Google has yet to officially confirm the details of the subscription plans, it is clear that the company is exploring different options to monetize its AI offerings.
Some users may see the introduction of a subscription plan as an opportunity to access even more capable language models and advanced math and reasoning skills. Others, however, may be disappointed by the potential restriction on free access to Bard Advanced.
As Google continues to innovate in the field of AI, it remains to be seen how the company will balance the need for monetization with user expectations for free access to powerful tools like Bard. For now, users eagerly await more information about the release date and pricing of Bard Advanced.
