The growing public spotlight on artificial intelligence (AI) has excited prospects for the future of the industry. Indeed, use cases for AI have run wild in the minds of both developers and the companies looking to integrate AI into their business models. Perhaps even more important for the growth of AI, though, is how accessible the technology has become to regular people through chatbots like ChatGPT.
Today, the public has its broadest and most explicit access to AI than ever before. Previously, the technology had hidden itself in clever ways, although it has always been there. Music streaming services use machine learning to inform users’ listening habits and recommend them new music. AI is also used to personalize ads on social media. It informs your GPS of road blockages, traffic slowdowns and the like to suggest route changes on the fly. More explicitly, AI exists in the form of personal assistants available on nearly every phone or smart device.
The surge in popularity of chatbots and generative AI art tools has changed this. People can now use AI to fulfill all sorts of tasks they couldn’t ask of the technology before, putting them in the driver’s seat for the first time.
This is mostly thanks to the efforts of AI developer OpenAI and its ChatGPT chatbot. Released in November 2022, the ChatGPT tool has prompted all of this ongoing excitement and fear around an AI-driven future. But there are plenty of reasons users may not want to use ChatGPT. It often gets bottlenecked unless you pay for a subscription, for example. It’s also not connected to the internet, limiting its dataset. This is driving some users to seek out alternatives.
Looking for a ChatGPT Alternative? Consider One of These AI Tools.
The limitations of ChatGPT, at least right now, mean that it’s a fairly unreliable way to access generative AI technology. Those unwilling to pay a subscription for the service will have trouble accessing it reliably because of the small capacity relative to demand. This complicates things for individuals and companies who are trying to leverage the tech for their own ends. Luckily, there are a number of other chatbots worth trying out right now.
Jasper is one of the most popular ChatGPT alternatives. First coming to popularity with its generative art tool, the company has since expanded with a chatbot tool. Unfortunately, those strapped for cash will find the $49 per month price to be a bit steep. Luckily for them, though, there’s also YouChat AI. On top of being completely free, YouChat uses the same GPT-3 language model used by ChatGPT.
In addition to straightforward chatbots, there are also several more specialized AI tools at the disposal of users right now. One of these, Character.AI, allows users to ask questions to different “characters,” which seek to aid in different ways. One character may have expertise on a given topic, another may generate prompts and another still may analyze code for errors. Meanwhile, ChatSonic — a tool supported by Alphabet’s (NASDAQ:GOOG, NASDAQ:GOOGL) Google — stays up to date on news to offer insight to journalists and other writers who may need help. Another tool by Alphabet called Socratic is meant as an aid for children, explaining concepts one might learn in school.
Of course, the biggest threat to ChatGPT’s dominance is none other than Alphabet’s Bard. This bot, while not yet available, will utilize the full scope of the web to solve tasks given to it by users. As a result, Bard will be able to use the most up-to-date data to complete tasks, a welcome improvement on the limited data utilized by ChatGPT. Bard is expected to release to the public in the next few weeks.
Another notable blue-chip company chatbot is Microsoft’s (NASDAQ:MSFT) Bing Chat, though not for any positive reasons. When Microsoft’s take on AI first released, it came under a wave of controversy. The bot was actually rude to users — and blatantly lied. The company has since pulled the bot, planning to right its many flaws and release it again soon. Users can join the waitlist for the revamped bot now.
On the date of publication, Brenden Rearick did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
