Google plans to introduce a paid upgrade for its AI-powered chatbot, Bard, which will be called Bard Advanced.
Bard Advanced is said to be more powerful than the current version of Bard and will offer additional features, such as advanced math and reasoning skills, a more powerful and accurate language processing capability that will allow it to offer new AI-powered applications. Apparently, the company is currently testing the new version with a small group of users and plans to release it to the public soon.
As discovered by @bedros_p on X, the code inside Bard’s website reveals Google’s plans for the most advanced version of its chatbot. It turns out that Google will offer a free trial period of Bard Advanced for the first three months after launch, after which, users will have to pay a monthly subscription fee. The exact price of the subscription has not been identified, but it is expected to be competitive with that of other AI language models on the market.
Also according to the code, the new version will be integrated into Google One, but it’s unclear if Bard Advanced will be added to all tiers or only the most expensive ones. We can’t rule out a new subscription tier being created either, but it’s too early to say for sure.
With a paid version of Bard, Google aims to recoup some of the costs associated with running the new Gemini LLM. LLMs are very resource-intensive and require a lot of computing power. Google’s ad-based approach doesn’t work with chatbots at present, so it’s no surprise that the company is considering switching to a subscription model to generate revenue. It remains to be seen how popular a solution like Bard Advanced will be among consumers.
As for the timing, Bard Advanced should be launched soon, probably within the first quarter of the year, if we consider the many information extrapolated from the code. Google is betting big on the new LLM behind Bard, Gemini, and apparently the new model has the potential to revolutionize the way we interact with technology.
In the meantime, thanks to the decompilation of the most recent Google app, the first details about Assistant with Bard have emerged, confirming that it will completely replace the experience of the current version on supported Android devices. And finally, the company has decided to use Reddit to probe what would be the most requested features by users in this 2024. Many will come with the introduction of Gemini, but for more details we refer you to the original article.
