Google opens up Bard access to teens around the world

When Google launched its Bard chatbot, it was restricted to adult Google account users. But that won’t be the case starting today as Google is opening Bard’s doors to teens.

For the first time, teenagers will be able to take advantage of Bard all on their own starting today, Google announced in a blog post. The feature will be open to all teenagers who meet the minimum age requirements for managing a Google account. In most countries, the minimum age for this is 13, but in areas like Aruba, Vietnam, Greece, and more, this can range from 14-16. You can check out which countries are included in these exceptions on Google’s help page.

To commemorate the occasion, the tech giant has integrated two new features teens should find pretty useful for completing their homework. Google says that anyone can now type or upload a picture of a math equation, and Bard will give you an answer. Additionally, the chatbot will also provide step-by-step instructions on how to solve the problem.

The other new feature will allow users to visualize data. Bard will now be able to take tables and data you put into the prompt and turn it into various charts. For example, a user could ask Bard to show them a bar chart of their volunteer hours across the last couple of months.

The Mountain View firm notes that it has worked with organizations like the Family Online Safety Institute to help shape its content policies to keep teens safe. It also acknowledges that teens may not be aware of large language model (LLM) hallucinations. According to the company, it will automatically run its double-check response feature the first time a teen asks a fact-based question. It will also recommend using double-check thereafter to help them develop literacy and encourage critical thinking.

Initially, Bard will only be available in English, but Google says that support for other languages will come down the road. Google’s update now brings Bard closer in line with ChatGPT‘s age requirements.