ChatGPT vs Google Bard (2023): An in-depth comparison

This is an in-depth comparison of ChatGPT vs Google Bard. Use our guide to learn more about their unique capabilities and differences.

ChatGPT and Google Bard are AI chatbots designed to generate responses to prompts. When used appropriately, ChatGPT and Google Bard can be used to support certain business processes in content production, development and more. Take a look at each tool’s features, pros and cons to see which would be best for your business.

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ChatGPT is an AI chatbot developed by OpenAI that generates human-like responses based on text input. It has been trained on a huge amount of internet text called a large language model.

Google Bard is another AI chatbot. Like ChatGPT, Google Bard can answer questions and generate text from prompts.

ChatGPT’s basic version is free, with a limit of 100 questions per day. For $20 per month, ChatGPT Plus gives subscribers faster response times, access to new features and access to GPT-4 (the free version is currently using GPT-3.5). Organizations without a contract with OpenAI can get on a waitlist for access to the ChatGPT API.

Google Bard is free, with an unlimited number of questions. Google’s products have often remained free, since the company mostly profits off of advertising.

ChatGPT and Google Bard are useful tools for producing text –– anything from summaries of information to creating a poem to writing an essay. ChatGPT was trained on text from the internet, and Google Bard was trained on a specific dataset for conversations. This leads some to argue that ChatGPT is better at producing paragraphs and summaries and other text-based processing tasks, while Google Bard is better at conversations.

SEE: Discover how to use Google Bard in your brainstorming sessions.

However, since ChatGPT is based on data that was mostly collected up until 2021, it does not have access to the full range of material on the internet as Google Bard does and, therefore, may produce out-of-date responses. For instance, if your business wants to use ChatGPT to learn about Google Bard, ChatGPT is unable to respond.

ChatGPT and Google Bard are trained on datasets that include hundreds of billions of parameters, which results in remarkably human-like responses. Further, GPT-4 has over 100 trillion parameters.

However, since Google Bard was trained on data that has instant access to the internet and a more up-to-date library, it can produce more current responses than ChatGPT’s responses. For instance, if asked “what happened yesterday in Budapest?” Google Bard can give several bullet points of news events, whereas ChatGPT comes up empty.

ChatGPT collects information from previous conversations and prior interactions with the user, which means it can use context when engaging in a chat. Bard is also able to use context in the conversations, and can also pick up where a user left off.

For instance, if you ask: “What do you think about the new employee description I mentioned the other day?” Bard can respond using the previous cues.

SEE: How to use Google Bard (2023): A comprehensive guide

ChatGPT and Google Bard are still in development and may contain errors or biases. Therefore, users should be critical of the information provided by ChatGPT and Google Bard to ensure its accuracy.

In addition, there are privacy concerns that come along with using ChatGPT or Google Bard, which collect personal information in the same way search engines do. Your IP address, text and even links to your information like phone, email and social media can be gathered.

ChatGPT and Google Bard are free — unless you opt for the paid ChatGPT Plus — and both AI chatbots are trained on large natural language models, meaning their responses tend to be similar.

Google Bard has several features that help it stand out. For one, you can get “draft” versions of the response, which offers a variety of responses. Further, Google Bard is completely up-to-date, with access to online information.

ChatGPT, on the other hand, is based on data up to September 2021.

It’s important to remember that both AI chatbots can be prone to error and bias and collect your personal data — not just the information you input — and can be tools of misuse for bad actors. Learn more about how generative AI works along with its benefits and dangers.

We evaluated these products based on the free version of ChatGPT and Google Bard, which is free by default. We tested out how the two AI chatbots would answer the same questions, and we asked ChatGPT and Google Bard about more current news items to test the limitations.

5 Best Digital Marketing Certifications

The global digital ad market is expected to hit more than $209 billion by 2027. In fact, this rapid growth has meant that market research analysts and marketing specialists are among the country’s top 20 most sought-after employees, commanding an average salary just shy of $64,000, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

In this article, we explain what digital marketers do and list the top digital marketing training providers whose courses may provide your career with a boost.

Digital marketers develop online marketing strategies for their clients to raise brand awareness and generate sales. They analyze data from previous campaigns to see what’s working well. This, in turn, helps them better understand how to maximize conversion rates (when a website visitor buys something, subscribes to a newsletter and so on).

Marketers rely heavily on social media platforms, such as Facebook and Twitter, to do their jobs, but they also make use of email and text message campaigns. In addition, marketers analyze web metrics and should be well versed in search engine optimization techniques and tools.

But digital marketing isn’t always about bringing in new customers or business; it’s also about connecting with the ones you already have. You use the same channels, such as social media, to stay in touch and keep customers current on what your company can do for them.

Many companies want to get the best result both online and offline and look for ways to blend the best of both. This is called an omnichannel marketing strategy.

The Meta Blueprint Certification program offers seven certifications for three different levels of proficiency.

The exams for these certifications cost between $99 and $150 each, but the training itself is free. Before taking them, however, you may want to take these free courses if you’re new to marketing on Meta’s platforms.

>> Learn More: Best Facebook Marketing Strategies: The Latest Tips

There are nine Google Ads certificates you can earn.

To take any Google exam means first signing up for the Google Partners program, which also lets you register for free training. From there, you can certify as an individual. The Google Ads certification is good for one year.

Geographic targeting of your Google ads is one of our 14 ways to improve your local marketing strategy.

The social media and platform company with the catchy name — Hootsuite — offers eight certifications. The Hootsuite Social Marketing certification covers core concepts related to social media marketing. Other certifications include Hootsuite Social Selling, Hootsuite Advanced Social Advertising, Hootsuite Advanced Social Media Strategy and a few specialty credentials.

Hootsuite encourages candidates to take a series of free online courses before they sit for the Social Marketing exam, which costs $199. The credential doesn’t expire. The certifications teach both beginner and advanced marketing skills for those who plan to advertise on social media sites. The self-paced lessons are done online with a 60-question examination given at the end of the course.

In our review of HubSpot, we found it to be the best CRM software for small businesses because of its all-around functionality. It’s great for coordinating inbound marketing and sales, and the company offers a bunch of training and certifications through HubSpot Academy. The HubSpot Content Marketing Certification recognizes professionals who create and promote content for the purpose of bringing in new customers. The associated course covers tips and best practices for building a content library of valuable assets. Other certifications include HubSpot Inbound Marketing Certification, HubSpot Email Marketing Certification and HubSpot Sales Software Certification.

To earn the HubSpot Content Marketing Certification, take the associated online course and then the exam. It’s all free. For details, see the FAQs. 

The American Marketing Association Professional Certified Marketer (PCM) program takes a more formal approach to its certifications than other featured companies in this article. The organization created a body of knowledge for the PCM Digital Management certification, which includes topics on planning, branding, pricing, public relations, social media and more.

A related credential through the American Marketing Association (AMA) is the Professional Certification in Digital Marketing. Sold in association with the Digital Marketing Institute, the course usually costs $2,060. Check to see when they have a sale on, because that price can go down to $1,442. A limited number of students are taken on at a time. 

The following table lists top digital marketing certifications and the number of open positions on a single day that call for the certification specifically or experience with the technology. This isn’t a scientific analysis in which every job description is examined, but an overall glance at search numbers.

Certification

Open positions on SimplyHired, per day

Open positions on Indeed, per day

Total

Meta/Facebook*

119

236

355

Google Ads**

2.919

3,608

6,527

Hootsuite Social Marketing

17

18

35

HubSpot Content Marketing

9

15

24

PCM Digital Management

17

17

34

* includes searches for “Facebook Blueprint,” “Facebook Certified,” “Meta Ads” and “Meta Certified”

** includes searches for “Google Ads” and “Google AdWords”

The Adobe Qualified program offers four levels of training covering topics such as web page creation and management, digital experience building, and how to analyze digital data and audience behaviors. The Get Started page shows you everything you need to know about becoming Adobe Certified.

Salesforce marketing certifications — specifically, the Salesforce Certified Marketing Cloud Consultant and Salesforce Certified Marketing Cloud Email Specialist course — may appeal to professionals who use Salesforce for marketing campaigns.

If you want to learn more about digital marketing on Twitter, check out Twitter Flight School offerings. Twitter doesn’t offer certifications at this time, but you can take free courses and earn badges for your efforts.

The Content Marketing Institute offers six courses to those who want to advance their skills in the field of content marketing. Topics covered include planning, audience, conversion and metrics. Once you’re finished with the self-paced lessons and all the quizzes, you will receive your certificate of completion. Enrollment costs $995 per student.

Market Motive offers another potential certification that you might want as part of beefing up your digital marketing credentials. Their platform has 10 courses currently, including a Masters in Digital Marketing as well as Complete Google Ads Professional. There are also courses in SEO, web analytics, content marketing, mobile marketing, pay-per-click and more. Prices range from $25 to $3,500 and include 180-day access.

Another option to consider is the Digital Marketing Institute. They offer the Professional Certification in Digital Marketing in partnership with the AMA, mentioned earlier in this article, and a comprehensive Certified Digital Marketing Expert at postgraduate level for $4,500-$6,500. They offer 19 courses in total, 13 of which are short courses at $445 on topics like content marketing, social media marketing and e-commerce.

SMBs often benefit most from social media. The problem is that few owners have the time to learn the skills. Getting a qualification could be a stepping stone to starting your own social media marketing agency.

Mark Fairlie contributed to this article.

Google Invests $300 Million in AI That Passed Law School Exam

Two months after OpenAI's surprise ChatGPT release caused Google to issue an internal "code red," the search giant is finally making — or at least, doin' their darndest to make — big moves to catch up.

Coupled with the announcement that in the coming weeks the company will be releasing its own AI-powered search-oriented chatbot dubbed "Bard," Google has also invested a cool 300 million bones into the up-and-coming AI startup Anthropic, according to The Financial Times.

Per the FT, Google now has a 10 percent stake in the startup, to which Google will reportedly mostly be a technological and financial supplier. And though $300 million into Anthropic is small beans compared to rival Microsoft's mammoth $10 billion cash infusion into OpenAI, the investment certainly feels like a big statement.

OpenAI has a pretty serious headstart in the AI marketplace, achieved by bringing ChatGPT to the masses arguably too soon, without the precaution that the company was originally founded to protect. And unlike OpenAI, Anthropic's products are mostly under wraps, though it is known that an Anthropic-made chatbot called "Claude" passed a blindly-graded George Mason University law and economics exam — an impressive accomplishment, and one that may well make Anthropic a legitimate OpenAI rival.

It's no secret that Google's playing catchup right now. And from a business perspective, they should be.

Though Microsoft's Bing has long been the butt of the joke, Microsoft's decision to infuse ChatGPT — the fastest-growing app in history — into its search engine might just breathe new life into the platform. And search aside, it's generally just in Google's best interest, as a company that's been throwing its technological force behind AI projects for some time now, to get its own products into the AI arena before rival products' influences are too far cemented.

But regardless of how these next few weeks and months shake out for any of these companies involved, Google's choices, here, are significant, if only symbolically.

It's one thing for VCs, who throw a lot of money-shaped spaghetti at a lot of walls, to invest in AI as the next big thing; Google, one of the most powerful companies on Earth, looks a little desperate to level the AI playing field.

And in doing so, they're adding more fuel — in the form of more and better-funded competition — to the AI arms race fire.

READ MORE: Google invests $300mn in artificial intelligence start-up Anthropic [The Financial Times]

More on Anthropic: Dark Horse AI Gets Passing Grade in Law Exam