Google Gemini vs. ChatGPT Plus vs. Microsoft Copilot

It doesn’t often happen that the Internet giant Google is in the attacker role – but in the area of ​​generative AI, it definitely is. After the duopoly Microsoft and OpenAI grabbed large parts of the very young market for AI chatbots in 2023, Google is now trying to catch up.

Although Microsoft wasn’t able to really strengthen its search engine Bing against Google, it’s now about something else: productivity software. More and more companies are now willing to pay €20 to €30 per employee for an AI assistant – and that’s why the race is currently taking place primarily in the area of ​​paid co-pilots – also because it is quite unclear whether private chats between man and machine represent a good advertising environment.

But how does the new Gemini (formerly Bard) fare against Microsoft’s Copilot and OpenAI’s ChatGPT? We have subjected the top paid services to an initial comparison.

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How creative are the AIs in comparison?

So let’s see who is ahead when it comes to creativity. The following answers come to the prompt “Give me 5 completely crazy startup business models for colonizing Mars”:

Google Gemini suggests the following:

• Mars Worm Farming: Grow protein-rich and nutritious worms in special Martian farms to ensure food supplies for the first settlers. The worms could also be used as waste recyclers and biofertilizers.
• 3D printed houses made from Mars sand: Use 3D printer technology to build stable and resource-saving homes for the first Mars inhabitants using local Martian sand.
• Space Taxi: Offer an interplanetary shuttle service between Earth and Mars to transport tourists, researchers, and business people.
• Mars Diamond Mining: Search for diamonds and other valuable minerals on Mars that can be used for transport to Earth and sale on Earth.
• Virtual Mars Expeditions: Enable people on Earth to experience immersive “expeditions” on the surface of Mars and “experience” the harsh environment up close using VR technology and haptic feedback.

ChatGPT Plus comes with the following ideas:

• Aeroponic Farms for Rare Earth Plants: This startup would specialize in developing sophisticated aeroponic (growing plants in an air or mist environment without soil) farms aimed at growing plants that are rare and difficult to grow on Earth.
• Mars-Specific Construction Companies: A startup specializing in building structures that can withstand the unique challenges of the Martian climate.
• Psychological Counseling Services for Long-Term Space Travel: A company that prepares to provide psychological support and counseling to individuals and groups embarking on long-term space travel or life on Mars.
• Recycling and Resource Conversion: An innovative recycling company focused on converting waste products into useful resources could be particularly valuable on Mars.
• Virtual Reality for Earth Experiences: A startup offering immersive virtual reality (VR) experiences that allow Martians to “visit” Earth.

And Microsoft’s Copilot provides the following ideas:

• Mars Tourism with Space BnB: A startup could specialize in offering luxury accommodation on the red planet. From floating domes overlooking the surface of Mars to interplanetary safaris, the possibilities are endless.
• Mars farming and terraforming: A company could focus on making Mars habitable. They could develop innovative technologies to fertilize the soil, grow plants, and change the atmosphere
• Astro-Mining: Mars is rich in valuable resources such as water, metals, and rare earths. A startup could specialize in mining these raw materials and bringing them back to Earth.
• Cosmic Art Gallery: Why not use the unique beauty of Mars to create works of art? A startup could send artists to Mars to create inspiring paintings, sculptures, or digital art.
• Mars Streaming Services: The Martians will certainly need entertainment! A startup could specialize in producing Mars-specific content, from interplanetary reality shows to Martian sporting events.

Now, these are not original ideas from the AIs, but bits and pieces from the internet that have been cleverly patched together. With Google and Microsoft’s Copilot, you at least get a little transparency with links to sources based on their search engines, with ChatGPT it remains a black box where the ideas come from. Who is the most creative? A matter of opinion.

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Bad jokes from the AI

Ok, let’s move on. If you’re bored, you can ask the AIs to tell their best joke. This is what comes out of it:

Google Gemini:

Two fish swim in the aquarium. Suddenly one fish hits the wall. He turns around and asks the other: “What was that?”

“What’s that supposed to be?” answers the other fish. “Just a wall.”

“A wall? What is a wall?”

“You know, that big, invisible thing that keeps us from swimming away.”

The first fish looks up thoughtfully. “You mean there’s more water out there?”

ChatGPT:

Why are ghosts so bad at lying?

Because they are so easy to see through!

Microsoft Copilot:

Why is the violin case in such a bad mood? Because it always gets canceled!

Conclusion: The profession of cabaret artists and comedians is not threatened by AI.

Access to the web

For example, you can ask Gemini and Copilot to summarize a YouTube video, which works quite well. Gemini is much better and provides a well-structured overview for MKBHD’s YouTube video about the Apple Vision Pro; Copilot, on the other hand, has a hard time with supposedly “forbidden words”. ChatGPT, on the other hand, can’t do anything with a link.

On the other hand, Gemini believes that it cannot summarize a Trending Topics article with business angel Hansi Hansmann, while this is not a problem for Copilot – at least at first glance. Because then suddenly content from other media such as Trend and Business Insider is mixed in.

With ChatGPT, on the other hand, there is no direct connection to other online content – you have to trick it with a custom GPT that you allow to use Bing Search.

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Gemini allows for quick fact-checks

Google is trying to get one of the biggest criticisms of AI models, the so-called hallucinations, under control as follows: Although you cannot avoid Gemini misrepresenting facts or making up something about them, you can at least see where the sense or nonsense comes from. By clicking on the G logo, text passages are highlighted and shown where the information in them comes from.

Now that’s good and bad at the same time. Although you now have transparency as to where content comes from, that doesn’t mean that it is correct. Actually, you should now check the source or, ideally, cross-check with a second source. However, in many cases, you end up doing Google research again and lose the advantage of Gemini to have something summarized. In other words: Then you can do it yourself.

Gemini scores highly when it comes to image recognition

One of Google’s strengths is its direct connection to real-time data from the internet. You can notice this in the image recognition, which not only works excellently (note: images of people are not analyzed) but also provides a lot of additional information. We asked about this picture:

Gemini provides the following answer:

“The picture shows a container being loaded onto a truck. The container features the logo of Carbon Cleanup, a company engaged in the development and deployment of carbon capture and storage technologies.

The truck is located in Vienna, Austria, and the photo was taken on February 9, 2024.

It is possible that the container is loaded with carbon capture technology developed by Carbon Cleanup. The company has announced that it will begin delivering its first commercial systems in 2024.

It is also possible that the container is loaded with recycled carbon fiber composite. Carbon Cleanup has developed a process to recover carbon fiber from composite materials that can be used to make new products.”

ChatGPT Plus also recognizes the image correctly, but (because it is not online) does not provide any further information, but (in this case) incorrect speculation:

“In this picture you can see a blue shipping container with the words “carboncleanup” on the side. The container is lifted by a vehicle with a lifting arm that appears to be ready to transport or drop it off. An industrial building and some trees can be seen in the background. The image appears to have been taken in an industrial or commercial area. The name “carboncleanup” suggests that the container may be used for environmental or cleaning work related to carbon emissions or reduction.”

The answer from Microsoft’s Copilot, which is based on GPT-4, is very similar to that of ChatGPT:

“The picture shows a large blue container labeled “carboncleanup” being moved by a vehicle with a mechanical arm. The container is large and blue with a white and green “carboncleanup” lettering on the side. The vehicle’s mechanical arm is red and black and lifts the container at one corner. In the background is a large building with an open door through which pallets are visible. The sky is overcast and the surroundings appear industrial. 🏭🚚”

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Gemini shows strengths in writing

How well can Gemini write? Of course, assessing this is anything but easy, because style and content are a matter of taste. But: Compared to ChatGPT Plus and Microsoft’s Copilot, Google’s AI performs pretty well. We gave the three AI chatbots the following task:

“Imagine you are a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist. Write a short, meaningful and critical article about the Bitcoin Halving 2024.”

Google Gemini: The bot delivers not just one, but three articles that you can choose from. The articles actually read differently because it is primarily pointed out that there were price increases in 2013 and 2017 after the halvings (that’s true), but the market situation in 2024 is fundamentally different and the global framework conditions are different. The fact that Gemini incorporates historical values ​​into the events after the last halvings makes a well-rounded picture. By clicking on the Google logo you can quickly see where the information comes from.

ChatGPT Plus: OpenAI’s chatbot delivers a rather generic article that delivers a lot of truisms without any real added value. There are a lot of “coulds” to be read, but overall the text remains speculative and full of generalities. Unlike Google and Microsoft’s chatbot, there are no sources to check the accuracy.

Microsoft Copilot: The chatbot delivers a short listicle without any big surprises. The fact that the copilot can get current information via Bing is shown by the integration of the current Bitcoin price, which actually says little to nothing about the halving. Sources are linked below the article.

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The good old data octopus

But Google wouldn’t be Google if Gemini wasn’t about data collection on a large scale – that was one reason why its predecessor, Bard, couldn’t start immediately in the EU. In any case, users should know that all entries made on Gemini can not only be read by the AI ​​itself, but also by human Google employees.

“Your conversations are processed by reviewers to improve the technologies used in Gemini apps. So don’t enter anything that you don’t want reviewers to see or Google to use.”

But it goes even further: By default, the data entered is stored in the Google account for up to 18 months, i.e. added to the existing Google data. This means that Google gets an even more comprehensive picture of the user who may be typing things into Gemini that they haven’t already searched for on Google or YouTube. After all, you can change the period of this data storage to 3 or 36 months in the settings for Gemini Apps activities.

With the business versions of ChatGPT (Teams & Enterprise) as well as with the business versions of Microsoft’s Copilot, there is at least the option to exclude the entered (company) data from the training of the AI ​​and thus from further use by OpenAI. This is intended to create trust in companies towards AI tools.

What Gemini can’t do (yet).

Compared to the current quasi-duopoly of Microsoft and OpenAI, Gemini also has some disadvantages and weaknesses. There are no mobile apps outside the USA yet; there are no plugins to dock other services; Gemini integration with Gmail, Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Meet has yet to happen; the promised image generator doesn’t work yet; and there is no way to build your own little AI applications for specific tasks. At ChatGPT, this has been possible with the GPT Builder for a few months, and Microsoft’s Copilot is set to introduce it soon. Google hasn’t said a word about offering something similar.

Overall, Google lags behind the duopoly of Microsoft and OpenAI in some core functions such as apps, company offers, or image generation, but can score well in other features such as text creation or image recognition.

Comparison table: Google Gemini vs. ChatGPT Plus vs. Microsoft Copilot