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Google brought Bard to all 27 European Union countries and Brazil on July 13, 2023, while expanding the chatbot to more than 40 languages. The rollout followed privacy discussions with Ireland’s Data Protection Commission and included new tools for voice playback, conversation management, sharing, coding and image prompts.
There is an important update for anyone reading this today: Google renamed Bard Gemini on February 8, 2024. Bard is therefore the historical name for the product discussed in this announcement, not Google’s current standalone chatbot brand.
What Google announced in July 2023
Google’s July 13, 2023 announcement expanded Bard beyond its earlier availability in the United States, United Kingdom, Japan and South Korea. Google said the chatbot was now available in additional locations, including Brazil and the European Union, and supported more than 40 languages.
The language expansion included Arabic, Chinese, German, Hindi and Spanish, among others. The announcement made Bard more relevant to a much larger multilingual audience and strengthened Google’s competition with ChatGPT and other generative-AI assistants.
Google’s original announcement is available on its official blog. Contemporary coverage generally described the move as Bard’s long-delayed EU launch.
Why Bard’s EU rollout was delayed
The delay was linked to privacy and data-protection questions rather than a publicly reported technical failure. Google had indicated that Bard would launch in the EU in mid-June 2023. Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (DPC), which was engaging with Google because of the company’s EU regulatory arrangements, reviewed information supplied by Google and raised concerns about the scope of its assessments and the material provided to users.
Google postponed the launch after consulting the DPC. According to the DPC’s 2023 annual report, Google subsequently made or committed to changes involving:
- More prominent warnings for users;
- In-product contextual disclosures;
- Updates to Bard’s privacy notice;
- Additional educational information about Bard and the technology behind it; and
- Further work on risk assessments, documentation, user information and retention periods.
It is more accurate to say that Google consulted the DPC, received observations and recommendations, delayed the rollout and changed its launch materials and assessments. The evidence does not support describing the DPC as having formally “approved” Bard. The DPC also said its monitoring work continued.
What the 40-plus-language expansion actually covered
“More than 40 languages” did not mean that every Bard capability worked identically in every language. Google said several features were available in more than 40 languages, while other capabilities launched in English first or were scheduled to expand later.
| Capability | Language qualification in Google’s announcement |
|---|---|
| General Bard access | Expanded to more than 40 languages |
| Text-to-speech | Available in more than 40 languages |
| Conversation pinning and renaming | Available in more than 40 languages |
| Shareable conversations | Available in more than 40 languages |
| Python export to Replit | Available in more than 40 languages |
| Google Lens image prompts | Initially available in English, with other languages planned |
| Response length and tone controls | Initially available in English, with expansion planned |
That distinction matters for anyone choosing an AI assistant based on language. Text interaction may be available in a particular language even when voice controls, image tools, connected services or mobile features are not.
The new Bard features
Text-to-speech
A sound icon allowed users to hear Bard’s responses aloud. Google presented this as useful for listening to answers, checking pronunciation, and hearing creative writing such as poems and scripts.
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Users could save chats, pin important conversations in the sidebar, rename them and revisit recent exchanges more easily. This made Bard more practical for recurring tasks rather than one-off questions.
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- A phonetic pronunciation accompanies each phrase.
Python export to Replit
Bard could export Python code to Replit, in addition to its existing Google Colab export option. That gave developers another route for moving generated code into an environment where it could be edited and tested.
Generated code still required review. An AI assistant can produce code that is incomplete, insecure or simply wrong, so export should not be confused with testing or verification.
Shareable conversations
Users could create links to share part or all of a Bard conversation. Before sharing, users needed to check whether the chat contained personal data, confidential work information, private correspondence or other material that should not be exposed through a link.
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Google Lens image prompts
Users could upload an image and ask Bard to analyze it, identify details or create a caption. Google Lens prompting initially launched in English, making it another example of why broad language counts did not guarantee complete feature parity.
Response length and tone controls
Google introduced options described as Simple, Long, Short, Professional and Casual. These controls initially launched in English.
How Bard compared with ChatGPT at the time
The EU rollout expanded Google’s direct competition with ChatGPT, but it did not establish that Bard was objectively better. The two products differed in their product ecosystems, rollout schedules, supported features and availability by country and language.
Google’s potential advantage was its connection to services such as Search and Lens. ChatGPT offered a broad general-purpose chatbot ecosystem. Neither product should be treated as automatically accurate, and claims about performance need to identify the date, test method and evaluator. Google’s own later evaluation claims should be understood as claims reported by Google, not independent proof of universal superiority.
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On February 8, 2024, Google announced that Bard would be renamed Gemini, aligning the consumer chatbot with Google’s Gemini model family. The announcement also introduced Gemini Advanced and mobile experiences.
Google said at that point that Gemini was available in more than 40 languages and over 230 countries and territories. Google’s current help documentation describes the Gemini web app as available in more than 70 languages and over 230 countries and territories, although availability can vary by product, platform, account type, age requirement and location. Check Google’s current availability documentation rather than assuming that web, Android, iOS, Google Messages and Workspace access are identical.
Privacy and practical cautions
The EU launch changes did not turn an AI chatbot into a risk-free place for sensitive information. Current Google documentation says Gemini may process prompts and other information supplied by users, along with certain account, device, location and connected-app data depending on the product and settings. Review the applicable Gemini privacy information before using the service.
As a practical rule, do not paste the following into a consumer AI chatbot unless you have verified that the relevant product and settings provide protections appropriate for the information:
Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
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- Confidential employer or client material;
- Proprietary source code or business plans;
- Detailed health information;
- Government identification numbers; or
- Personal information about another person without permission.
Availability also depends on more than language. Google’s documentation warns that mobile and web availability can differ, and some languages do not support every voice command, Assistant action or connected-service feature.
Why AI answers still need checking
Bard—and the product now called Gemini—can generate inaccurate or fabricated information. For important decisions involving money, taxes, contracts, health or legal obligations, verify the answer against authoritative sources. Google has also described “double-check” functionality that uses Search to identify information supporting or contradicting a response, but a search-based check is not a guarantee that the answer is correct.
Bottom line
Google’s July 2023 Bard update was significant because it combined a major geographic rollout with broader language support and useful product features. The launch followed privacy-related consultation with Ireland’s DPC, not a formal regulatory approval. More importantly, “40-plus languages” described broad availability and several features—not identical support everywhere. Since February 2024, the product should be referred to as Gemini, with current access determined by the specific country, platform, account and feature.
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