Google has officially announced Bard – an advanced chatbot that is a direct response to the massive popularity surrounding ChatGPT. Since OpenAI’s chatbot release in late November, Google has issued a code-red within their internal teams even going as far as re-assigning employees from several departments to work directly to progress their machine learning division. Simply put, Google isn’t taking the new chatbot craze lightly as it has the potential to impact its primary business model: indexing data, and advertising.
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What is Google Bard?
Bard is an experimental conversational AI service built by Google. This is basically just fancy talk for an AI chatbot. In their words: “Bard can be an outlet for creativity, and a launchpad for curiosity, helping you to explain new discoveries.” One way I explain this technology is to imagine if you asked Google a question and it actually responded to you.
The search engine industry might be about to make a massive shift with this new technology, and the big players in the game have taken notice. Microsoft just invested $10 billion into OpenAI (the company behind ChatGPT), with plans to integrate directly into their Bing search engine.
How Will Bard Change Google Search?
Implementing an AI chatbot into Google search could change the entire way people look for information online. You won’t have to visit websites to get answers to your questions, and instead, you’ll be able to ask questions and receive answers as if you were chatting with a real person. We will probably also see an increase in voice searches, as users might find it more convenient to ask Google questions through their voice assistants.
Here are some cool ways Google Bard could change how users search:
- Personalized Google results: AI and NLP chatbots could analyze a user’s search history and preferences to provide more personalized search results. This would ultimately result in a more tailored search experience for each individual user. (Similar to how advertising networks show you personalized ads based on your online activity)
- Improved voice search: Voice search is becoming increasingly popular, and AI and NLP chatbots could further improve the voice search experience by providing more accurate and relevant results, as well as being able to understand and respond to more complex questions.
- Predictive search: AI and NLP chatbots could analyze user behavior to make predictions about what a user might be searching for, and present these predictions in the form of suggested searches or answer snippets.
- Increased accessibility: A google search chatbot would make search more accessible to people with physical disabilities or those who struggle to type or use traditional search interfaces. They could easily use the voice capabilities of their devices and directly ask Google questions.
- Integration with other platforms: These systems could be integrated with other platforms and devices, such as smart home devices, cars, or wearable technology, making search more convenient and accessible. Imagine being able to say “Hey Google, when the temperature drops below 10, turn the heat on.”
Real-World Examples of a Google Search Chat Bot:
Instead of searching for “The Best Pizza Recipe,” and visiting the websites Google provides you, just simply ask the chatbot “What’s the best pizza recipe” – Since Google Bard isn’t available to the public, I went ahead and asked ChatGPT this question. Here’s what I got:
🧪 Now, let’s take things to the next level. 💯
Imagine this technology is implemented into your home assistants like Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, and Apple’s Siri. Next, imagine yourself sitting at home hungry and ready to eat.
You: “Hey Google, give me some ideas for dinner.”
Google: “Some dinner ideas include pizza, spaghetti, and chicken. Would you like some more ideas?”You: “Pizza sounds great! What ingredients should I get for a classic margherita pizza?”
Google: “You’re going to want to start with Pizza Dough. Do you plan on making your own or purchasing pre-made?”You: “I’m fine with store-bought.”
Google: “Okay, I’ve gone ahead and updated the shopping list on your phone with the following: 1.) store-bought pizza dough, 2.) tomato sauce, 3.) mozzarella cheese, 4.) 2-3 basil leaves, 5.) olive oil, 6.) salt and pepper. – It looks like the best deals for these ingredients are located at Walmart 2KM away from your home. It will take you 7 minutes to get there with light traffic currently. Would you like me to add this destination to Google Maps?”You: “I’m going to leave when Brian gets home from work, then we can go together. He should be home within the next 30 minutes.”
Google: “Okay, I’ll provide you with the directions in 30 minutes. I’ve also set a reminder to notify you.”
⭐ Next, imagine you’re in your kitchen getting ready to make dinner and you say “Hey Google, guide me through making a pizza.” Google provides you with the exact instructions out loud, even giving you the option to say things like “Hey, can you repeat that last part,” or “Okay, Google I’ve drizzled the olive oil over the pizza, what’s the next step?.” This technology has the capability to replace all writing and instructional tasks.
How Will Google Bard Change SEO?
Since Google Bard is currently in a private invite-only testing phase, we can’t fully understand what their chatbot implementation is going to look like, but we can assume it’s going to make a major splash in the search engine optimization (SEO) world.
🔮 Here are some of my predictions for how a conversational chatbot could change the SEO industry:
We will see a shift toward “conversational” content
With Google Bard providing quick answers directly on the search engine results pages (SERPs), there may be less emphasis on ranking in traditional search results. This could drive SEO efforts toward creating conversational, user-friendly content that is optimized for voice and chat-based search queries.
Changes in users’ search behavior
With a chatbot providing direct answers, users may be less likely to click through to websites for information, which could result in less traffic for websites, and would lead to less revenue for the business. On the other hand, users may be more likely to ask follow-up questions or engage in conversation with the chatbot, which could drive more interaction with search results. In our opinion, this situation can go both ways for businesses.
Increased voice search optimization
As voice search becomes more popular, you’re going to want to make sure you’re optimizing content for voice search queries. This could mean using more natural language in content and focusing on creating content that is easy to understand when spoken aloud. One thing to keep in mind when optimizing your content for voice searches, phrase your content as a question. For example: In this article, we’ve asked questions like “What is Google Bard,” and “Will Google Bard Change SEO?”
Reduced reliance on keyword optimization
With a chatbot providing direct answers, there may be less emphasis on ranking for specific keywords. Instead, SEO efforts could focus on creating high-quality, informative content that provides value to users.
New metrics for success
As traditional search rankings become less important, new metrics for success may emerge, such as the number of users interacting with a chatbot, the quality of the answers provided, and user satisfaction with the overall chat experience.
When is Google Bard Releasing?
Currently, Google hasn’t announced an official release date for Bard. For now, it’s in a private invite-only testing phase. Google wants to work out any weird bugs or kinks before unleashing this on the public. We will probably see this hitting the scene in no time though. They seem to be in complete panic mode and want this released ASAP.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the integration of Bard into Google’s search engine could have a profound impact on the SEO industry. From changes in search query behavior to a greater emphasis on content quality over something like backlink quantity. Bard could soon revolutionize the way you find information on the internet and the strategies that SEO professionals use to increase their website rankings in search engine results.
Moving forward, SEO professionals will need to adapt their strategies to keep up with these changes, by focusing on conversational content, optimizing for voice search, and as always; creating high-quality, user-friendly content that provides value to users. Additionally, new metrics for success may emerge, such as overall user satisfaction with the chatbot experience and the quality of the answers provided.
Chase Keating
Chase Keating specializes in website design and digital marketing. He is the founder and creative director at Vox Digital. Click here to book a time to talk with us!
Bard is going to be a complete game changer for SEO. I’m loving the tips you’ve outlined here @Chase.
Thank Luke. I completely agree. This will probably be the biggest shift the SEO industry has ever seen.