Google Bard AI can now talk

Google has revealed that its latest round of updates for its Bard artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot has added the ability to respond with spoken words instead of only text.

The tech giant company also expanded Bard’s linguistic knowledge while adding more response controls, and Bard now is able to provide responses in over 40 languages. These languages are set to include Arabic, Chinese, German, Hindi and Spanish, and Google has expanded access to Bard to new regions, including Brazil and Europe.

Google said they bring Bard to more regions and languages over time, they’ll continue to use our AI Principles as a guide, incorporate user feedback, and take steps to protect people’s privacy and data.

Google has also added the ability for Bard to read its responses out loud instead of just providing text responses. “Starting today, you can listen to Bard’s responses. This is especially helpful if you want to hear the correct pronunciation of a word or listen to a poem or script.” – the company added.

You are able to simply enter a prompt and select the sound icon to hear Bard’s answers.

The company has managed to make it possible to adjust the tone of Bard’s responses from options including “simple, long, short, professional or casual”.

“For example, you can ask Bard to help you write a marketplace listing for a vintage armchair and then shorten the response using the drop-down,” it said.

Google also mentioned that the response controls are currently only available in English, but it plans to expand it to more languages soon.