Paris, July 13 (AFP/APP): Google launched its AI chatbot Bard in the European Union and several more nations on Thursday, entering a key market in its race against Microsoft-backed ChatGPT after a delay over data privacy concerns.
The US firm unveiled Bard in February but postponed its June release in the 27-nation EU following queries by the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC), as Ireland is home to the European headquarters of US tech giants.
In addition to the EU, Bard was rolled out in Brazil and about a dozen other countries on Thursday.
Bard is “now available in most of the world, and in the most widely spoken languages,” Bard’s product lead Jack Krawczyk and vice president Amarnag Subramanya wrote in a blog.
“As part of our bold and responsible approach to AI, we’ve proactively engaged with experts, policymakers and privacy regulators on this expansion,” they said.
The company said it would incorporate user feedback and take steps to protect people’s privacy and data as it broadens access to Bard.
Graham Doyle, the spokesman and deputy commission of the Irish data privacy watchdog, said Google had planned to make Bard available in the EU in June but paused it following the DPC’s queries.
Ahead of Thursday’s launch, Google made a “number of changes” including “increased transparency and changes to controls for users,” Doyle said in a statement.
“We will be continuing our engagement with Google in relation to Bard post-launch,” he said.
“Google have agreed to carrying out a review and providing a report to the DPC after three months of Bard becoming operational in the EU.”
He noted that the European Data Protection Board set up a task force earlier this year to look at issues related to AI.
Italy blocked ChatGPT for a month in March over privacy concerns.
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