Natural language chatbots like ChatGPT and Bing Chat have become the latest focal point in the tech industry. You’ve probably heard of their amazing ability to write essays, poems, and even computer code. Furthermore, these tools can simplify complex topics and summarize entire novels. But while both may look similar on the surface, the quality of responses varies depending on exactly which service you use. So in this article, let’s look at the differences between ChatGPT and Bing Chat.
If you’re in a hurry, here’s a quick summary of how ChatGPT differs from Bing Chat:
- Both ChatGPT and Bing Chat use a larger language model known as GPT-3. However, Microsoft has adopted an advanced model for Bing Chat, which gives it the upper hand.
- Bing Chat is available on platforms beyond ChatGPT, including Android, iOS, and the Skype app. However, it currently requires you to join the waiting list, but you can use ChatGPT immediately.
- Bing primarily functions as a search engine, so the new chat feature can find web results and up-to-date information. ChatGPT on its part has no knowledge of recent events.
- ChatGPT has an optional paid Plus subscription, which gives you more advanced access than the free tier. Also, Bing is free to use, but Microsoft limits the number of conversations you can have per day.
- While Bing offers three chat modes, ChatGPT has no settings or fine-tuning options.
- ChatGPT can provide long creative responses. But this can come to be true as it cannot verify the answers from outside sources.
- Bing Chat can help and respond to you in multiple languages. ChatGPT currently only supports English.
Continue reading to learn more about the differences between Bing Chat and ChatGPT.
What can you do with Bing Chat and ChatGPT?
Calvin Wankhede / Android Authority
ChatGPT and Bing Chat are examples of generative AI, meaning they have the ability to generate new text that has never been written before. Naturally, such AI is only useful if it can provide accurate information, so how does it work?
In short, both rely on a large language model developed by San Francisco-based startup OpenAI. The model, named GPT-3, is trained on billions of text samples collected from the Internet. This means that both chatbots have the ability to generate text that looks like it was written by a human. We’ll see some examples in the next section.
Both ChatGPT and Bing Chat can generate human-like text on a variety of topics.
Bing goes a step further as it can search the internet for real-time information. Admittedly, this is a double-edged sword because any missing information can introduce bias into the response. However, in most cases, Bing Chat cites its sources under each response. This allows you to easily check the accuracy of the result by simply clicking on one of the quotes.
On that note, it’s important not to completely trust either chatbot, as both ChatGPT and Bing Chat are prone to “spoofing”. That’s when the chatbot gives a response that seems plausible but has no basis in reality.
ChatGPT vs Bing Chat: Accuracy and Knowledge
Whether you’re looking for information on a technical topic or a recent event, Bing Chat can almost always search the Internet and provide high-quality responses. But if you’re simply after historical knowledge, ChatGPT will do just fine as it has some knowledge of events before 2021.
For example, you can use Bing to compare the pros and cons of newly released products when shopping or to create a personalized itinerary for your next vacation. Both of these tasks require a fair amount of web-based research, which would take you a lot of time to do manually.
On the other hand, ChatGPT is better suited for discussion of creative questions. Whether you ask Bing Chat to write a poem, story or essay, you’ll find that it’s highly factual and prone to creative loss.
That said, Bing lets you choose from three modes, namely Creative, Balanced, and Authentic. As shown in the screenshot above, Creative mode is very close to ChatGPT’s default behavior. Even so, our testing confirmed that ChatGPT provides a longer response time.
ChatGPT vs Bing: How and Where to Use?
Rita El Khoury / Android Authority
ChatGPT was launched as a web-based tool in late 2022. That open access continues to this day, but that could change if OpenAI gathers enough data and the project moves out of the research preview stage.
Bing, on the other hand, has not enjoyed the same wide rollout. Although Microsoft had been testing the feature for months before launching it, the company chose to roll it out gradually. In other words, you must sign up for the waitlist and wait at least a few days before using Bing Chat for the first time.
Access to Bing Chat requires you to join a waiting list that takes a few days.
On average, wait approximately two weeks, although this can change at any time. You can also use the Microsoft Edge web browser and download the Bing app on mobile to improve your chances of being selected sooner.
ChatGPT vs Bing: Limitations and Value
Calvin Wankhede / Android Authority
OpenAI imposes very few restrictions on the use of ChatGPT, even if you don’t pay anything. If you send a lot of messages in a few minutes, you might encounter some errors, but that’s to combat abuse. You can also have relatively long conversations with the chatbot – there are no conversation limits.
That said, you have the option of paying for a $20 monthly ChatGPT Plus subscription. Doing so gives you three benefits: priority access to the service, faster response times, and early access to new features. Paid accounts don’t get high-quality responses, unlike some ChatGPT alternatives.
ChatGPT only supports English, but unlike Bing, it doesn’t have a chat limit.
Meanwhile, Bing can understand most major languages, including French, German, and Japanese. However, it has some other limitations. You can only have 60 conversations with him in a day. And each thread is limited to six replies, so don’t expect to have long back-and-forth discussions. Microsoft may reduce or eliminate these restrictions in the future. But now, the company says, most people will find what they’re looking for with just five responses.
You can’t pay for higher limits or better responses with Bing Chat. This is unlikely to change in the future as the company uses Bing to deliver ads and product recommendations.
Questions to be asked
No, Bing AI uses an advanced model codenamed Prometheus that is more powerful than ChatGPT. It can also search the internet which you can’t do with ChatGPT.
ChatGPT was created by OpenAI, a San Francisco-based startup. The same model also powers Microsoft’s Bing Chat.
No, ChatGPT and Bing Chat are both free to use.