AI enthusiasts who happen to own Pixel phones are thrilled right now.
That’s because Google is reportedly working on a home screen widget for its AI chatbot Bard, per 9to5Google(opens in a new tab). According to the code seen in that publication, Bard will get Android integration “in the near future”, which will include the aforementioned widget or perhaps be centered around the aforementioned widget.
Everything you can expect at Google I/O 2023
Unfortunately, that’s about all the information we have at the moment. 9to5Google’s report did not specify what purpose the Bard widget will actually serve. It can just be a home screen version of the Bard chatbot already available in your web browser, but it can also offer more than that.
There are a few other interesting nuggets to browse through the report. First, the Bard widget may be exclusive to Pixel phones, at least for a while. Secondly, Bard currently requires users to join a waiting list before chatting with it. Pixel users may be exempted from the waitlist, or the waitlist may end soon. Either way, Pixel users win.
Given that Google is hosting its annual hardware and software focused I/O conference next week, don’t be shocked if we hear more about this soon.