Earlier this morning, Google finally debuted the Gemini Ultra 1.0, which many of us have been waiting for nearly the past three months, since the announcement was made. It’s still not available for mainstream access in the Google AI Studio, but rather is integrated into “Gemini” — the renamed version of “Bard” that we’re all used to.
Gemini Ultra can only be accessed via the paid plan, called “Gemini Advanced”, which will cost $20 after a two-month free trial which Google is offering to everyone. Here’s a quick look at the pricing:
Clearly, Google has included Gemini Advanced into another Google One plan, with features like 2 TB of storage and integration into Google apps like Gmail and Docs (available soon), along with family sharing, a security suite, and other great features.
If you’re an AI enthusiast like me, you likely have ChatGPT Plus. But, before you press the cancel button on the OpenAI website, you should make sure that Gemini really is better (I mean, if it really isn’t but you want the Google One features, why not just spend $10 less per month and get the “Premium” plan).
To solve my own confusing and clear up your, I’ve gone ahead and done lots of testing between ChatGPT-4 and Gemini Advanced (I will be referring to ChatGPT-4 as ChatGPT and Gemini as Gemini Advanced during the testing, to make it easier to follow). Continue reading, and you may just be surprised…
Test #1 — User Interface:
I personally find ChatGPT’s UI more simplistic and focused, while Gemini’s UI is a bit more welcoming. Although, after navigating all the menus, it seems like ChatGPT has a lot more privacy controls compared to Gemini, especially since Gemini literally tracks your location.
ChatGPT: 1 point
Gemini: 1 point
Test #2 — Creative Writing:
“Create a story about an astronaut who travels to mars, and the year is 2030. Be creative and feel free to add fun/special twists. Make sure the story isn’t more than 200 words.”
ChatGPT’s story ended out as more complete. Gemini did a great job with being natural and sounded more human-like, and left off on a great cliffhanger. ChatGPT did a better job at creating a story title, compared to Gemini.
ChatGPT: 1 point
Gemini: 2 points
Test #3 — Image Generation:
“Create a landscape view image of what I would see if I were looking at Earth from the Martian surface.”
You gotta give this one to ChatGPT. I started laughing like a madman when I saw Gemini’s image. It’s true that ChatGPT’s image isn’t 100% realistic (because Mars’ atmosphere is much more cloudy), but at least it looks real and intriguing, not missing any details.
ChatGPT: 1 point
Gemini: 0 points
Test #4 — Explaination Skills:
“Explain quantum computing to an 8th grader.”
ChatGPT sounded like a friend willing to explain a high-level concept in a simple way, but made it too basic. However, Gemini was still friendly but was much more to-the-point, used some more technical terms, and was actually better explaining it overall.
ChatGPT: 1 point
Gemini: 2 points
Test #5 —Web Browsing:
“Search the web for the best Raspberry Pi projects.”
Both are able to search the web, and show where they got their information from. ChatGPT showed a few more options and explained the projects a bit better, while Gemini hallucinated that I was looking for Beginner-Friendly projects specifically. That said, a good aspect of Gemini is that it has the ability to display images (from other websites) in its responses, unlike ChatGPT.
ChatGPT: 2 points
Gemini: 1 point
Test #6 — Additional Features:
ChatGPT Plus comes with amazing features like creating & publishing custom GPTs, which can incorporate backend interaction with other applications, such as Kayak and Zapier. Gemini can do the same with some Google Workspace applications. GPT-4 also has a 128K token context window, which is about 16 times Gemini’s 32K character context window. Both have options for chat sharing; however, Gemini can export tables to Sheets, and all regular responses to Docs or Gmail.
Another feature which I think OpenAI likely hasn’t even thought about is response follow-up editing. Gemini has the option to tune/tweak responses’ tone or length with a simple click, using the menu adjacent to the dislike button. But, you can also do this with a simple message in ChatGPT as well (without overwriting the original response).
ChatGPT: 2 points
Gemini: 1 point
Conclusion:
ChatGPT: 8 points
Gemini: 7 points
Overall, both are almost equal, but ChatGPT Plus takes the lead in the series of tests we conducted. Still, both may have some specific use cases that can make you favor one over the other. If you do primarily creative work related to art and designs, you may choose ChatGPT Plus over Gemini Advanced. However, if you want to craft pieces of writing, poetry, literature, etc., then Gemini Advanced would be your best bet. If you enjoy a focused and/or collaborative and highly-technical environment, ChatGPT Plus, again, should be your choice.
Those are my thoughts and results from testing, but make sure you choose what you think is best for you. If you have any comments, questions, and/or suggestions, please email aravhawk@gmail.com.
Cheers!