ChatGPT Plus faces stiff competition from Gemini Advanced and Copilot Pro. But I’ve tried all three AI subscription services. Here’s how it’s better.
Key Takeaways
- ChatGPT offers better content, while Copilot is faster and Gemini lacks image features.
- ChatGPT's longer history gives it an edge in new features and art capabilities.
- ChatGPT values privacy, unlike Gemini that retains data for up to three years.
In the artificial intelligence race, OpenAI was one of the first out of the starting gate with its chatbot, ChatGPT. But in the year that followed, Google and Microsoft soon unleashed AI platforms of their own. Now, ChatGPT Plus, Gemini Advanced and Copilot Pro are three of the biggest names in AI.
After trying out all three platforms, I found nuances with each that made it clear the best AI subscription depends on, exactly, what you need to use it for. Gemini created the best content on the first try, where Copilot is faster and offers more in its free tier. ChatGPT also doesn’t have the integration into productivity apps like Google Workspace and Microsoft 365. But, ChatGPT’s longer history still leads to a few clear advantages.
The answer to the question on which chatbot is best still depends on the type of work that you want the AI to handle for you. But these eight key features are where ChatGPT’s longer history gives it a clear edge.
1 ChatGPT Plus tends to be first for new features
Will the new competition change that?
ChatGPT had nearly a year in operation before Microsoft Copilot even launched, and roughly four months before Bard, now dubbed Gemini, became public. The company’s longer AI history sometimes means that its first with new features.
This is particularly true with Copilot, since it uses OpenAI’s training data. ChatGPT Plus gained GPT-4 Turbo in March of 2023. It didn’t come to Copilot until Microsoft launched the Pro subscription in January 2024. There’s an important distinction to make between Copilot and ChatGPT though, and that is that Microsoft offers access to GPT-4 Turbo on its free tier, whereas ChatGPT uses the older GPT 3.5 for non-subscribers.
Unlike Copilot, Google’s Gemini uses the company’s native training data. Gemini’s young history doesn’t offer much background to gauge which platform will be first with new features in the future. But, the added competition could help drive more features from ChatGPT. In a race of resources, however, as the larger company, Google may have more resources to devote to Gemini.
2 ChatGPT has more art capabilities
There’s a clear advantage going with the company that’s behind both GPT-4 and DALL-E
OpenAI created both ChatGPT, a text generator, and DALL-E, an image generator — so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the ChatGPT Plus subscription includes access to both programs. While image generation isn’t exclusive to ChatGPT, subscribers do find a few perks compared to competitors.
Currently, Gemini won’t create images of people. Google’s AI also refuses to create graphics that include both images and text. That gives ChatGPT an obvious advantage. But, if you’ve never used either platform, what’s not so obvious is the images that Gemini refuses to do are some of the most laughable results on ChatGPT. Human faces and hands are often distorted to horror movie levels. Text is often misspelled or nonsensical, even when you tell it exactly what to write in the image. Still, there are a few instances where you can get decent results from ChatGPT that Gemini won’t generate. For example, ChatGPT can produce solid images that include people in genres where details are more obscured, such as watercolor paintings.
Copilot will use DALLE-3 to generate images, much like ChatGPT. But despite sharing similar training data, Copilot struggled with basic instructions. It failed to follow the requested aspect ratio and the style in the original prompt. This could be in part because Copilot has built-in editing tools for changing those parameters after the fact. But, the point of AI is working quickly, so ChatGPT’s likelihood to get the correct result first is a significant advantage.
3 ChatGPT refuses to copy artists' style
Gemini and Copilot have no such ethical qualms
Generative AI is trained on data, often scraped from the web, a process that has led to a longstanding debate on the ethics of using written content and art without the creators permission. While all three platforms use data from the web, one ethical step in the right direction is that ChatGPT refuses to copy an artist's style. (Note though, that ChatGPT has no such restrictions for an author’s style.)
When asked to create artwork in the style of a specific living artist, ChatGPT typically responds with something along the lines of "Since I can't directly replicate the work of artists like [name], I'll aim for a conceptual piece that channels the essence of his style without imitating it." There is a bit of a workaround — you can ask ChatGPT to describe an artist's style, then use those words in an image generation prompt. Still, the limitations are a step above Gemini and Copilot, both programs that will readily create an image in a specific artist’s style.
4 ChatGPT lets you delete your data every 30 days
Gemini keeps some data for up to three years
The data that you type into any AI platform isn’t secret. Sensitive data shouldn’t be typed into any AI generator. But, when privacy is paramount, ChatGPT will automatically delete your chat data every 30 days. When chat history is disabled, OpenAI’s subscription won’t use user inputs for training past 30 days.
Gemini has tools to delete your content as well, including automatically scheduling deletions. However, some prompts are randomly selected for human review. These conversations are not deleted with the rest of the data and can be retained for up to three years.
Because Copilot Pro uses training data from OpenAI, Microsoft doesn’t actually use input for training. But, deleting your data is a manual process, a step that also wipes your Bing search history clean.
5 ChatGPT has a wealth of different custom GPTs and extensions
That helps make up for the lack of integration in productivity apps
As the older of the three platforms, ChatGPT has a wide variety of different GPTs to use the AI in different ways. These variations are tailored to specific tasks, which means they tend to create better results than ChatGPT alone. The different GPTs available can help with anything from conducting research to building code. Many of these GPTs are integrated into third-party apps. For example, you can plan a trip with Kayak. Or, since ChatGPT doesn’t do well with text-based graphics, you can use the Adobe Express or Canva integrations to find templates that help you turn your design idea into reality.
Similarly, ChatGPT also powers several extensions, from adding the chatbot to a web browser to having GPT-4 take notes in your virtual meeting for you.
Gemini and Copilot both don’t offer GPTs in the same way. Instead, the perks on these two programs lie in the integration with the parent company’s other software. Gemini is built into Gmail and apps like Google Docs in Google Workspace, while Copilot is inside Microsoft 365.
6 ChatGPT’s writing is better than Copilot, though a little wordy
It’s not better than Gemini in many cases, however
With both ChatGPT and Copilot using GPT-4 Turbo, I expected the two platforms to have similar writing skills. But that’s not what I found. Copilot felt more like a first draft, where ChatGPT’s writing felt more refined on the first attempt. The biggest caveat with ChatGPT is that it felt a bit wordy; I found better results when I gave it a word count limit.
I can’t say the same for Gemini, however. Compared to ChatGPT, Gemini’s writing felt cleaner, with less passive voice and more description. Gemini is rumored to have included data from Google Books in its training. While Google hasn’t said whether or not this is true, I suspect it is based on the writing that the AI was able to produce.
7 ChatGPT makes more suggestions
Being too talkative can be a plus
Sometimes, being wordy has an advantage. When I asked all three chatbots for advice, ChatGPT tended to give out more generous tips. The platform from OpenAI tended to include more advice, unless I asked for a specific number of ideas.
ChatGPT was also less frustrating at times when looking for specific data. While it doesn’t always use the Bing plugin to pull data that has happened after the training was finalized, ChatGPT had more straightforward answers to give. When I asked about the number of moon landings, for example, ChatGPT told me the answer immediately while Gemini explained that it was a complex question to answer due to differences like crewed and uncrewed landings.
8 ChatGPT doesn’t have built-in ads
Or use what you type in for ads
I expect ads when using free versions of software. But Copilot Pro on the web integrated ads into nearly every response even with a subscription. For example, when I asked for generated images, it inserted ads for stock photography underneath the results. ChatGPT (and Gemini) didn’t integrate ads into the chatbots.
