Chatbots have been around for decades but for the longest time have been limited in many ways. As technology has been improving, so has AI and now we’re in an age where chatbots are easy to use for anyone of any computer skill level. They are easily accessible through apps and browsers and for the most part, are affordable.
We started seeing chatbots become popular with services like Siri but without a doubt, we saw the biggest boom in interest in chatbots and AI to date with the release of OpenAI’s ChatGPT. After people got over fears of AI becoming a reality in the workspace, London IT Support Companies now find that most companies are actively adopting AI and chatbots to increase work productivity and efficiency.
ChatGPT has been a massive success with the ability to generate conversational text, answer questions, and generate things like essays, emails or even code just with a simple prompt. With so much attention and demand for AI services like ChatGPT it’s unsurprising that Microsoft joined the rush to compete in the AI space.
While Microsoft has been known to be one of the biggest investors in OpenAI’s ChatGPT, it didn’t stop the company from going a step further and announcing its own service with the integration of AI into the Bing search engine.
It’s important to note that Bing Chat is still based on OpenAI’s GPT 4 because of their close partnership. This means that there are some similarities but since the recent launch of Bing Chat, it is clear that there are some major differences between this AI chatbot and ChatGPT.
Out of the gate, Bing Chat looks to be the more powerful option over ChatGPT at this stage. The main two reasons for this according to TechQuarters, who are trusted IT support based in London, is mostly because of Bing Chat being connected to the web and the language model. Bing Chat makes use of the latest GPT 4 language model whereas ChatGPT runs on GPT 3.5.
Currently, Bing Chat is more up to date, using the most recent data to respond to any queries or prompts. Unless you’re looking for information that is only relevant to 2021 or prior, ChatGPT won’t be able to give you the most accurate information unless you’re a ChatGPT Plus subscriber. This is where we see a price difference between the two services. Microsoft intends on keeping Bing Chat completely free whereas ChatGPT has both a free version and a monthly subscription.
Beyond price, accessing the chatbots is different as well. ChatGPT is a more isolated interface where it can generally only be accessed through a web browser tab. Bing Chat on the other hand is integrated into Microsoft Edge through a sidebar. It can be pulled up or closed at any time while using Edge. This makes Bing Chat feel more like a search tool that can help you research, find sources and dig deeper into your topic.
Office 365 Consultants have also pointed out that this way of having Bing Chat integrated means that instead of needing to copy and paste any information to ChatGPT you can gain insights and chat directly to Bing Chat in the sidebar while the page you’re researching from is still open.
Another noteworthy feature that Bing Chat has that ChatGPT does not is its integrated image creator. Bing Chat uses DALL-E to generate images in the chat function. Images are free to generate and take a matter of seconds to create.
Where ChatGPT has a strength over Bing Chat is with its integrations and plugins. Bing Chat currently only has a couple of plugins, but ChatGPT allows users to use plugins to combine AI services with other apps. This offers more varied use cases that make ChatGPT a powerful personal assistant with the ability to perform actions in different apps for you.
Both Bing Chat and ChatGPT are powerful tools with the ability to make a significant difference in your way of working. When deciding which to use however it really comes down to what the use case is.
If you’re looking for a powerful research tool with up-to-date information, in-depth page insights, image generation and the ability to provide reputable sources then Bing Chat will be the better option.
If you’re looking for more of an AI-powered personal assistant, then ChatGPT will be an obvious pick with its large range of plugins and the ability to perform actions for you.
But of course, both chatbots are great and there’s nothing stopping you from making use of both. You can get the best of both worlds with the best productivity and efficiency tools that are just a simple prompt away.
