Google Bard is set to receive an update that will allow it to generate images from text responses, thanks to a collaboration with Adobe. The announcement came during Google I/O and is a much-needed feature boost for the chatbot, which will help it take on Microsoft’s Bing AI. Bing AI has been generating images for some time through its DALL-E integration, making this the natural next step for Bard.
The new feature will make use of Adobe Firefly, a family of creative generative AI models, to power text-to-image capabilities. Using Bard’s conversational AI service, users will be able to describe their vision and generate images with Firefly. The images will be created within Bard, allowing users to fine-tune prompts and generate artwork in one place.
The feature is made possible through the Content Authenticity Initiative, an open-source Content Credentials technology that will bring transparency to generated images. While some artists have expressed concerns over AI image generation, Google plans to tag images generated by Bard to ensure transparency.
Although Bard had a mediocre launch and has some catching up to do to compete with Bing, the new image generation feature will be a valuable addition. Google’s partnership with Adobe Firefly is a surprising move given that the image generator is still in beta, but it could help Bard take on the likes of Midjourney and Bing AI. It remains to be seen if Bard can catch up and become a solid competitor to Bing Chat, but this update is a step in the right direction.
