In November 2022, U.S.-based artificial intelligence (AI) research lab, OpenAI, released its chatbot, ChatGPT, and disrupted the global technology industry.
ChatGPT provides comprehensive, cohesive, and articulate replies to a varied variety of subjects spanning from astronomy to haute cuisine. It uses natural language processing (NLP) algorithms and machine learning (ML) models to analyze and interpret user input, provide relevant responses, and deliver interactive and personalized interactions.
Such technologies can continuously improve their language comprehension, response production, and general conversational abilities by analyzing and learning from previous interactions. Chatbots of this type can be used on a variety of platforms and channels, including websites, messaging apps, social networking platforms, and voice assistants.
But, there is a catch. It often gives very detailed responses that are full of factual errors around non-existent entities.
Despite their limitations, the lure of ease has attracted a large number of professionals across industries over the last few months. In this article, we look at six alternatives to ChatGPT that have been launched in recent months.
Bard
Developed by Google, Bard is an AI-powered chatbot that was released in March 2023. It harnesses the power of LaMDA (Language Model for Dialogue Applications). Accessible through a web-based platform, it is a user-friendly interface. The tool exhibits utility in tasks such as text summarization and translation.
Jack Krawcyzk, Product Director at Google, recently shared on Twitter how Bard can even generate image-based responses in response to queries.
But, be cautious of the fact that Bard, not unlike ChatGPT, might fail to solicit factual information or technical expertise in niche domains.
Vox correspondent Shirin Ghaffary opined that Bard is “pretty boring.” It is noticeably more dry and uncontroversial. That’s probably by design, Ghaffary added
Chatsonic
Developed by Writesonic, ChatSonic is another AI-powered chatbot. However, it isn’t just another chatbot, claims the company. According to the developers, the AI tool is the “crème de la crème of the AI chatbot universe.”
ChatSonic was designed specifically to address the shortcomings of ChatGPT and is based on the same GPT-4 language concept. It can be used to quickly create any form of material, from social media ad text to lengthy blogposts.
Chatsonic generates content that includes the most up-to-date data and industry trends, something that even ChatGPT cannot achieve.
Interestingly, ChatSonic is up-to-date unlike ChatGPT. It can also understand voice prompts, create AI generated art, and has a Chrome extension.
Claude
Claude, developed by the U.S.-based Alphabet-backed tech startup Anthropic, is an AI-powered assistant capable of a wide range of conversational and text-processing activities. The tool can assist with a variety of use cases, including summarization, search, creative and collaborative writing, coding, and more. It is accessible through their developer console’s chat interface and API.
According to Anthropic, Claude is a new, larger model with architectural choices comparable to those in the published research. You can also change the chatbot’s tone, attitude, and behavior, making it sound more comprehensive.
Anthropic has been quietly testing Claude with launch partners, including Robin AI, AssemblyAI, Notion, Quora and DuckDuckGo.
Anthropic was founded by ex-OpenAI employees in 2021.
Perplexity AI
Launched in August 2022, Perplexity AI is a conversational search engine that uses OpenAI’s GPT-3.5 API. The tool serves up detailed answers to various questions to satisfy user curiosity.
When a user inputs a question, Perplexity AI’s model utilizes its AI language model and relevant information from the internet to provide a corresponding answer.
Perplexity AI’s transparency in producing the sources of its answers is a significant characteristic. After each response, the tool displays all of the sources from which the information was retrieved.
YouChat
Launched by You.com, YouChat is an AI search assistant. You.com was founded in late 2021 by former Salesforce employees.
It enables users to engage in human-like discussions directly within their search results. Users can ask complicated questions, use logical reasoning to solve problems, learn new languages, and produce content in any language. It offers real-time data and references sources to improve accuracy and relevancy.
The tool summarizes a large number of documents and websites in order to offer you with a concise, detailed response to your question. It provides responses faster and allows you to ask follow-up questions that keep the context of your initial question, just like you would with an expert.
YouChat helps to create new ways to find information and suggests changes to search engines. It depicts a future in which artificial intelligence sifts through data for you, swiftly summarizes information, recalls the context of your searches when you ask follow-up questions, and delivers everything in a human-sounding, natural manner.
SiteGPT
SiteGPT emerges as a notable ChatGPT alternative, renowned for its ability to seamlessly integrate into websites, providing AI-driven chat capabilities. It excels in understanding and responding to user queries with remarkable accuracy, thanks to its comprehensive training phase, where it learns from website-specific content.
The chatbot is easy to set up and integrate, and it continuously evolves, adapting to new content and business needs. Furthermore, SiteGPT stands out with its unique ‘Functions’ feature, enabling it to perform tasks and automate workflows, thereby enhancing user interaction and efficiency.
Beyond customer support, SiteGPT serves as a versatile tool in lead generation and marketing. Its advanced features like Smart Q&A, tone and prompts customization, and the ‘Escalate to Human’ option ensure personalized and effective communication.
The AI’s ability to handle complex queries and provide tailored responses makes it an invaluable asset for businesses looking to optimize customer engagement and streamline operations. Overall, SiteGPT’s innovative approach and robust functionality position it as a strong contender in the realm of AI chatbots.
What AI experts think about this development
AI researcher at Google, Geoffrey Hinton, recently quit the organization, citing concerns about the risks of AI. He claimed the tech might soon outperform the human brain’s information capacity. He termed some threats posed by these chatbots as “quite scary.”
On the other hand, Robotics researcher and AI expert Rodney Brooks argues that such AI tools are a lot stupider than we realize, not to mention a very far cry from being able to compete with humans at any given task on an intellectual level. Brooks made the remarks in an interview with IEEE Spectrum.
In February 2022, Guardian tech journalist Chris Stokel-Walker wrote in a column that Google and Microsoft are engaged in an AI arms race. He also stressed that both of these tools made embarrassingly rudimentary mistakes.
“I think ChatGPT is good for complex queries that there’s no direct answers, and summaries would be very beneficial,” said William Wang, Director of the Centre for Responsible Machine Learning at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
