Google and Discord have run an invitation-only chat for heavy users of Bard, Google's artificial intelligence-powered chatbot. Google product managers, designers and engineers are using the forum to openly debate the AI tool's effectiveness and utility, with some questioning whether the enormous resources going into development are worth it.

Bard Product Manager Dominik Rabiej said his rule of thumb is not to trust LLM output unless he can independently verify it.

"I would love to get it to a point that you can, but it isn't there yet."

Rabiej suggested limiting people's use of Bard to "creative / brainstorming applications." Using Bard for coding was a good option, too, said, "since you inevitably verify if the code works!"

Bard user experience lead Cathy Pearl said that the biggest challenge is finding a use for LLMs which would make a difference.

Two participants on Google's Bard community on the chat platform Discord shared details of discussions in the server with Bloomberg from July to October. Dozens of messages reviewed by Bloomberg provide a unique window into how Bard is being used and critiqued by those who know it best and show that even the company leaders tasked with developing the chatbot feel conflicted about the tool's potential.