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If you haven’t got your finger on the AI pulse, you may not know about all the ChatGPT alternatives on offer.
At the beginning of 2023, hardly anyone had heard the phrase ‘generative AI’. So, when OpenAI unleashed ChatGPT, the world had a crash course in the transformative power of AI.
As it turned out, this was just the beginning. Since then, and particularly in the last two months, the floodgates have opened. Generative AI chatbots have skyrocketed in both number and complexity.
GPT-4 now has integrated voice and image capabilities, something to once again make OpenAI stand out from the crowd. Whilst others like Google Gemini are looking to compete in the coming months, these recent developments put ChatGPT firmly at the top of the generative AI pile.
But these new features are, for now, locked behind a paywall. So what are the best free alternatives to ChatGPT?
1. Google Bard – The Everyman
Before the end of September, Google Bard was literally just ChatGPT but worse. They have the same functionality, but Google’s AI chatbot is trained on 540 billion parameters compared to GPT-4’s 5 trillion.
That meant Bard was (and still is) less original, less responsive to revisions, less accurate and generally less useful.
If you are looking for simple tasks like suggesting SEO-optimised blog post titles, Bard can do it. ChatGPT does it better with more eye-catching and better-optimised suggestions, but Bard is perfectly fine.
However, this doesn’t mean Bard is completely useless. In fact, in the past week, it has got a lot better.
Bard gained the ability to communicate with images thanks to the incorporation of Google Lens. Now users can upload images and ask Bard to describe them or even suggest design improvements on visual projects. The suggestions are pretty unhelpful and basic, but hey, it’s an interesting addition that will only get better.
You can also now talk to Bard, and it can talk back.
But Google Bard’s greatest strength is not necessarily seen in a single feature but in its embedded nature. It is made by Google and is designed to integrate across all of your Google Apps. Google envision Bard being the conduit through which you use technology. For example, you can link it to your Google Workspace meaning Bard can retrieve emails, help write documents or read spreadsheets without you having to open separate tabs.
This is genuinely very useful and gives Bard a significant edge over other competitors. If you are a Google user, which almost everybody is, Bard is an excellent choice. And the incoming Google Gemini update will make it even better.
Better yet, it is completely free.
2. Bing Chat – The Outcast
Oh Bing. The butt of everyone’s internet-related jokes. The outcast since you were born. Eternally in the shadow of pretty much every search engine in history. Why do you exist?
Well, maybe generative AI is its chance to outshine Google. After all, Bing Chat is part of Microsoft Edge, a major backer of OpenAI.
So, is it any good? No, not really. I mean, it’s passable. It does everything Bard does like analyse images and give creative feedback, but it does all this very slowly.
Chatbots have to be seamless, like talking to a human. That means snappy answers. Bing Chat regularly takes around a minute to describe an image and about ten seconds to give written answers. That’s medieval nowadays.
And when it does churn out an answer, they are rudimentary in comparison to competitors. Talking to Bing Chat feels like talking to an AI chatbot made three years ago, or in human terms, it’s like asking a disinterested teenager for advice.
Additionally, you have to download the entirety of Microsoft Edge just to use it. 750MB of, let’s face it, vastly inferior software, clogging up your device so you can access a below-par AI chatbot. Not for me. In fact, I’m hitting the uninstall button as soon as I publish this post.
Although it does boast an image generator, something even Google and ChatGPT do not have yet. And it’s actually pretty good and has unlimited free use.
Bing Chat has some unique interesting design features like pre-sets for emails and blog posts, but the core feature, the actual AI language model, makes this an easy pass.
3. Perplexity AI – The Scholar
Perplexity AI is impressive. And I mean really impressive.
If you’re looking for an accurate, well-informed and precise AI search tool, Perplexity is the choice for you.
First of all, it is rapid. Its answers, even to complex questions such as academic research summaries, are quicker than Bard and on par with ChatGPT.
Better yet, Perplexity has direct access to the internet, meaning it can link sources in its answers. You can fact-check instantly which any responsible AI user must do. ChatGPT can’t, for example, link to academic papers, it can only give you the titles.
Even when you don’t ask, Perplexity clearly shows you where it has got its information from. I LOVE this. It goes a long way to making AI chatbots feel more legitimate.
Perplexity also suggests follow-up questions that may be beneficial if you are researching a subject. All of this makes Perplexity feel well thought out and refined for a specific purpose.
It can also process text-based documents to explain or summarise them. Although there is no voice or image processing yet.
Overall, Perplexity AI is a winner. It is perfectly targeted for researching topics and its copilot aids with searching the internet. The only downside is image uploads and copilot use are currently restricted for free users, and if you want to use Perplexity’s GPT-4-based model, you have to pay for Pro.
Still, I highly recommend!
4. Claude 2 – The Underwhelming One
Claude 2 is not bad. It does what it says on the tin efficiently and to a high standard.
Claude 2 is entirely dedicated to being a search assistant. This means it can’t do things like write code (although another company called Sourcegraph use Claude 2 as the basis of their coding assistant ‘Cody’) or generate images, it exists only to answer queries and communicate efficiently.
When prompted, Claude gives sources and directly links to them, but unlike Perplexity, it doesn’t offer them freely.
There are no voice-activated features yet making it feel slightly outdated compared to ChatGPT, but it still runs lightning-fast and gives well-informed responses.
It just feels a little underwhelming. Other competitors have a USP to differentiate them from the rest. Bard incorporates Google Workspace, Perplexity prides itself on sourcing and Bing Chat works across Microsoft’s programmes.
Claude 2 is less convenient, with less additional features and no integration with other apps. It is completely free, however, so if text-based document reading is your priority, Claude 2 is a good option.
5. Chatsonic – The Best ChatGPT Alternative?
Now, Chatsonic isn’t perfect. In fact, it is noticeably slower in replying than all of the above. It also has a more robotic conversational tone and its free mode has a lot of restrictions on the amount of words it can produce.
In its current state, it is not a viable free alternative to ChatGPT. There are just too many paywalls. The base language model it uses in the free version is also slow and not the smoothest to communicate with.
But. It is one to watch. Chatsonic is loaded with additional features.
Audiosonic turns text into AI voiceovers. These aren’t perfect or even particularly convincing yet, but it is still incredibly useful and does a job.
Botsonic allows you to create bots to perform simple tasks like customer service communications or shopping assistance.
AI Writer offers one of the most developed and complex article-writing services out there.
And Photosonic is a text-to-image generator that, whilst not the most developed on offer, still does a good job for basic needs.
Chatsonic and its associated features show excellent potential, illustrating just how comprehensive and multifaceted generative AI will become once larger companies like Google catch up.
Right now, I’d look elsewhere for a free service, especially if all you want is a text-based assistant. But watch this space.
ChatGPT Alternatives – Final Thoughts
There are now a lot of options if you are looking to incorporate AI into your workflow. And to be honest, most of them are all of a good standard.
If you’re looking for a fast, easily accessible and always-free chatbot then go for Google Bard, especially if you use Google Workspace.
If you want even more accuracy and clear sourcing for research, Perplexity is an excellent option.
And, I can’t believe I’m saying this, if you want quick and clean AI image generation, choose Bing Chat.
In the end though, AI tools are all down to personal preference, like any software or hardware. Experiment, see which works best for your wants and needs and be prepared to switch to a better model.
Let me know your favourite AI tool in the comments below!
