Alphabet loses $100B market value after inaccurate answer from AI chatbot Bard

Alphabet, the parent company of Google, lost $100 billion in market value on Wednesday after its new chatbot Bard seemed to have responded inaccurately to a question in a promotional video. The Nasdaq-listed company closed at $99.37, down by 7.68%.

Reuters was the first to point out an error in Google's advertisement for Bard, which debuted on Monday, about which satellite first took pictures of a planet outside Earth's solar system.

ChatGPT, the chatbot by Microsoft-backed OpenAI, has been wooing users since November. In January, it reached an estimated 100 million monthly active users, becoming the fastest-growing consumer application.

Microsoft, which has invested $10 billion in the AI company, recently demonstrated a new version of its Edge browser with ChatGPT-like features, along with an AI chatbot available in the sidebar. The company has also integrated ChatGPT functions into its Bing search engine. However, it currently offers limited experience and users will have to join a waitlist to get access to the 'new' Bing.

After ChatGPT's immense success, Google entered the AI race, with hopes of outsmarting it with Bard. On Monday, unveiling the chatbot, CEO Sundar Pichai had written in a blog post, "Bard can be an outlet for creativity, and a launchpad for curiosity."