Since its launch in 2022, Open AI’s ChatGPT has been the go-to platform for writing, production, coding, and with the refinement of DALL-E, even image creation.
Generating over 1.63 Billion user visits in February of 2024 alone, ChatGPT’s impact on the world is near impossible to overstate.
However, that doesn’t mean it’s the best.
The end of 2023 saw an explosion of challengers for ChatGPT’s spot at the top of the AI Hierarchy; the launch of Microsoft Copilot, Google Gemini, Photoshop AI, came alongside critical updates to the existing titans of Canva and Capcut. Even existing popular platforms such as ClickUp and Slack began the mass-adoption of chat-based AI.
With this many options, sticking to old favorites out of habit is a quick way to get left behind the curve. We’ve made a point of testing every platform that comes around, and already, we’re finding some are outperforming the previous best options at every turn.
Here are just a few new releases (and updated classics) making us question if ChatGPT should still be considered the standard.
Google Gemini
Launching at the tail-end of 2023, Gemini had big shoes to fill going up against the previous heavyweight ChatGPT. However, in our opinion, Gemini has more than met the challenge.
Previously known as Google Bard, Gemini has the backing of Google’s search, even for free users. Because of its tight integration with Google’s systems, it provides faster, more up-to-date information, making it a far better research tool than ChatGPT.
When it comes to creative applications, ChatGPT has an over-the-top default writing style that’s incredibly easy to identify. Overusing cliche phrases like “game-changer” or “journey” in a way that is, frankly, ‘cringe’.
In our tests, Gemini has a more diverse vocabulary, and more willing to take writing risks, making the output come across more human. Utilizing unique formats such as bullet points without prompting, creative use of punctuation and relevant humor beyond puns.
Here is a side by side comparison when given the same prompt. The difference is day and night.
It should be noted- this is comparing the FREE version of Gemini vs. the Paid version of ChatGPT.
Midjourney
As of October 2023, anyone with ChatGPT 4 could take advantage of prompt-based image generation using Open AI’s DALL-E platform. Trained on millions of text-image pairs, DALL-E is a powerful tool capable of creating realistic images, infographics, logo designs, and more.
We’ve used DALL-E quite a bit, and its convenience is difficult to beat. When integrated into a well made Custom GPT, you can create brand appropriate images with exceedingly simple prompts.
But… if you’re looking for quality, Midjourney is the far better bet.
Running off the chat platform Discord, Midjourney is more complicated to set up, but its results are definitely worth it. Unlike ChatGPT, where refining an image is near impossible as it does not have the ability to iterate off an image, only regenerate, each Midjourney prompt provides 4 results, that you are able to select your favorite from, and refine further.
Midjourney also comes with far more versatility in commands. Control the aspect ratio, remove specific elements from an uploaded image, change the randomness of the seed, or even the quality. There are hundreds of tweakable parameters as opposed to ChatGPT’s more one-sized-fit all approach.
Here is an image created entirely in Midjourney by our CMO Jorge Rodriguez that increased our lead flow by over 200% on launch.
Claude
We are genuinely surprised Claude, a new conversational AI, has not seen viral success. In our experience, Claude has produced the best written content- outperforming Gemini, ChatGPT, and CoPilot at every opportunity.
It’s faster, more human-sounding, and does not require nearly as detailed prompting to receive usable results. For ChatGPT, we often find you need to provide an extensive list of ‘do nots’ in order to get a good result. Do not use cliche terms such as “game-changer” or “on this journey,” do not use emojis, do not reference the writing in the third person, etc.
Claude on the other hand is more efficient with its words and time. Don’t believe us? Here’s a side by side.
Not only was Claude more accurate, giving 201 words vs. ChatGPT’s 231, but it also gave far fewer AI ‘Red Flags’ such as ending with a conclusion sentence, or cliche over exaggerations like “in an era”.
The Takeaway?
Blindly trusting in ChatGPT to remain the top choice for every situation is missing the point of the rise of AI innovation- just like refusing to acknowledge the power these platforms have in the first place.
ChatGPT is far from obsolete. It’s still the best choice for those working with consistent brands, as its custom GPT system allows unprecedented levels of specificity and consistently. As the general workhorse of your AI Collection, it still is the best at doing everything good. It can code, it can write, and it can make images.
But if you want to truly stand out? Use the right tool for the job. Even if it’s not the same tool as everybody else.