Quick Links

Key Takeaways

To use Google Bard, head to bard.google.com and sign in with a Google account. Google Bard now works in over 180 countries. If you're using a Google Workspace account instead of a personal Google account, your workspace administrator must enable Google Bard for your workspace.

Google Bard is here to compete with ChatGPT and Bing's AI chat feature. As of May 10, 2023, Google Bard no longer has a waitlist and is available in over 180 countries around the world, not just the US and UK. Here's how to get access to Google Bard and use Google's AI chatbot.

UPDATE: 5/10/23

At Google I/O 2023 on May 10, 2023, Google announced that Google Bard would now be available without a waitlist in over 180 countries around the world. In addition, Google announced Bard will support "Tools," which sound similar to ChatGPT plug-ins. Google also said you will be able to communicate with Bard in Japanese and Korean as well as English. For the future, Google said that soon, Google Bard will support 40 languages and that it would use Google's Gemini model, which may be like the upgrade from GPT 3.5 to GPT 4 was for ChatGPT.

How to Get Access to Google Bard

To get access to the experimental version of Google Bard, visit the official Google Bard website at https://bard.google.com/. You will have to sign in with a Google account.

You no longer have to join a waitlist. Assuming you're in a supported country, you will be able to access Google Bard immediately.

Google Bard webpage open on a laptop
Hannah Stryker / How-To Geek

You will have to sign in with a personal Google account (or a workspace account on a workspace where it's been enabled) to use the experimental version of Bard. If you don't have a Google account, you can create one for free. To change Google accounts, use the profile button at the top-right corner of the Google Bard page.

If you have a Google Workspace account, your workspace administrator will have to enable Google Bard before you can use it. (Here's some documentation on enabling workspace features from Google.) If you try to access Bard on a workspace where it hasn't been enabled, you will see a "This Google Account isn't supported" message.

Google Bard also doesn't support user accounts that belong to people who are under 18 years old.

How to Access Google Bard Outside the US or the UK

You can now access Google Bard in over 180 countries just by heading to the Google Bard website and signing in. (At its release, Google only let user accounts in the US or the UK sign up for Google Bard.)

If Bard still doesn't support your country, a VPN may let you get around this restriction, making your Google account appear to be located in a supported country like the US or the UK. Be sure to set your VPN server location to the US, the UK, or another supported country.

If you don't have a VPN yet, be sure to take a look at our list of the best VPNs. Our favorite VPN is  ExpressVPN.

best-vpns-expressvpn-logo2
ExpressVPN
Our Favorite VPN

ExpressVPN is fast, easy to use, and will let you browse as if you're in the US or the UK.

How to Use Google Bard

Once you have access to Google Bard, you can visit the Google Bard website at bard.google.com to use it. You will have to sign in with the Google account that's been given access to Google Bard.

Google Bard provides a simple interface with a chat window and a place to type your prompts, just like ChatGPT or Bing's AI Chat. You can ask it questions or give it instructions. You can also tap the microphone button to speak your question or instruction rather than typing it. Everything you type or say to it is called a "prompt."

Bard will also suggest prompts to demonstrate how it works, like "Draft a packing list for my weekend fishing and camping trip."

Google Bard introducing itself.

In the menu on the left side of the Google Bard page, you'll find options for "Reset chat" to reset the Bard chat conversion, "Bard Activity" for controlling the saved Bard chatbot activity associated with your Google account, and a "FAQ" button that takes you to the Google Bard FAQ.

Google Bard lets you click a "View other drafts" option to see other possible responses to your prompt.

Other buttons let you give a thumbs up or thumbs down to a response---important feedback for Google. You can also get a new response (that's the refresh button) or click "Google it" and get traditional search results for a topic.

Google Bard saying hi.

Like all large language models (LLMs), Google Bard isn't perfect and may have problems. Google shows a message saying, "Bard may display inaccurate or offensive information that doesn't represent Google's views." Unlike Bing's AI Chat, Bard does not clearly cite the web pages it gets data from.

Related: ChatGPT: How to Use the AI Chatbot for Free

Does Google Bard Have an App?

Google Bard does not have an official app as of Google I/O 2023 on May 10, 2023. However, you can access the official bard.google.com website in a web browser on your phone.


We'll continue updating this piece with more information as Google improves Google Bard, adds new features, and integrates it with new services. For example, Google has announced plans to add AI writing features to Google Docs and Gmail.

Microsoft announced the new Bing Image Creator the same day Google released Bard to the public.

Related: How to Generate Unlimited DALL-E AI Images for Free (With Bing)