Unless you have been living under a rock, you must have seen how explodingly popular ChatGPT has been on the internet. The chatbot is based on OpenAI’s GPT-3 language model, allowing users to have a conversation with the AI by entering prompts. However, it only recently got even better with the launch of GPT-4 which gives the bot even more power. But that also brought a big downside with ChatGPT’s servers more often than not, being overloaded with users. This has locked users out of using this extremely useful and interesting AI bot. If you are one of the folks who find ChatGPT down, we have prepared a detailed guide on how to fix ChatGPT not working. However, if you wish to try out other similar services that offer ChatGPT like experience, you have come to the right place. In this guide, we have listed a variety of ChatGPT alternatives you should try out. So without further delay, open additional tabs on your browser, and let’s chat with some AI bots.
Google isn’t the only one itching to get into the AI market. Microsoft which recently planned to invest $10 Billion in OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, has now revealed its upgraded Bing AI search engine. The revamped search engine is powered by an upgraded model of ChatGPT, which the company initially called the new “Prometheus model” but was later confirmed to be GPT-4. Microsoft claims that the new model is faster and more accurate than ever before.
The new Bing also has a Chat mode that pulls in web queries and allows users to ask contextual information based on them. Microsoft demonstrated the same in its event recently where the user asked for a recommendation of TVs and then used Bing to filter the list. Bing even allows users to plan trips, get recipes, seek out advice, and a lot more just like ChatGPT. While still in a limited preview, Bing will be completely free to use once released. While it was earlier available via a waitlist, this amazing ChatGPT alternative is now open to stable users.
Perplexity AI is a ChatGPT alternative that has also been trained on OpenAI’s API, and as such, performs well with good responses. The website itself has been packaged in a minimalist manner and is simple to use. The tool offers ChatGPT-like functionality, including the ability to hold conversations and provide simple to nuanced responses. However, unlike ChatGPT, Perplexity even cites the sources it is using to answer your queries. While the ability to see the source material is nice, it also opens the AI up to accidental plagiarism.
Whenever asked something, the AI cites the source at the end of every sentence like Wikipedia and actually derives from it too. In the time I used the AI, I looked through the sources to spot copy-pasting but could find none. So it’s good to see Perplexity is doing its due diligence.
I had a variety of conversations with this chatbot, and it was able to hold its own without sounding confused. I did not find a multi-turn response ability here, which means it didn’t remember previous prompts to draw on them. Furthermore, besides text, there is no way to interact with the AI, so forget about talkback and personas. However, there is a neat dark mode on the website, so there’s that.
Fortunately, Perplexity AI is completely free to use and doesn’t even require an account. So you can chat with this ChatGPT-like tool and actually check out some of its citations. Go on and give it a try.
Best ChatGPT Alternatives for Chatting
Ever since ChatGPT went viral, a lot of users had their eye on Google. While the company was silent for a long time since it was concerned about the potential misuse of its chatbot AI, Google has now bowed to pressure and opened the gates. As revealed in the company’s latest blog post by CEO Sundar Pichai, Google Bard is an experimental conversational AI service. Bard is powered by a lightweight model version of LaMDA, Google’s own next-generation language and conversational model.
Google promises that ‘Bard seeks to combine the breadth of the world’s knowledge with the power, intelligence, and creativity of its language models‘.
You can now sign up to gain early access to Google Bard AI in select countries. There have been no statements made by Google about its plans to integrate Bard into the company’s search engine, but the company plans to add new AI-powered features to Google Search. You will soon see quick answers to questions at the top of search results. Google Bard piqued our curiosity so we crafted a ChatGPT vs Bard battle and things got interesting. We even compared Google Bard vs MS Bing Chat and Bard performs differently than you would expect. Check the comparisons out and tell us if you plan to use this ChatGPT alternative.
4. Jasper Chat
Jasper has been in the AI content generation business for some time now and has been well-accepted among users. However, apart from its content generation features and other services, Jasper also has a relatively new chatbot. Aptly named Jasper Chat, this ChatGPT alternative is also based on GPT 3.5, among more language models, and has OpenAI as its partner. However, unlike ChatGPT, which can effectively be used by anyone, JasperChat has been built for businesses like advertising, marketing, and such.
Nonetheless, Jasper Chat can easily be used by anyone looking for an AI chatbot like ChatGPT. According to the company, Jasper Chat has learned from billions of articles and other pieces of information before mid-2021 in 29 languages. So while it might not include the most recent information, it can still hold medium to complex conversations. There is also a convenient toggle to include Google search data that lends it more power.
During my time with Jasper Chat, it proved to be a good chat companion as I asked the chatbot various riddles, made it write video scripts, tell me jokes, and even tongue twisters. I also tried out an ad copy or two, and it did that well too. Jasper has contextual memory, so it does remember your past prompts. However, Jasper has explicitly stated that it is not a research engine and all outputs should be fact-checked.
Jasper Chat itself is free, but you require Jasper’s Boss or Business plan to access all the features. The Boss Plan starts at $59 per month. It’s not exactly cheap, but it also gives you access to all of Jasper’s services. Get the 5-day trial to see if it fits you.
Chatsonic is one of the newest and quite expansive ChatGPT alternatives that has been making the rounds lately. It has been built on top of ChatGPT, and hence, inherits its vast potential. However, this AI chatbot comes backed by more features and broader knowledge as it can access the Internet, which is something the former still can’t do.
The ability to output answers using internet results gives Chatsonic the ability to dissipate correct information, making it a bit less prone to errors. The AI chatbot also remembers conversations and draws on them to continue the flow. It even comes with 16 different personas, ranging from an accountant to a poet, in case you feel like having a conversation with different people.
Unlike ChatGPT, you can even talk to the AI using your microphone (much like Google Assistant and Siri), and it can respond back in voice if you choose so. And once you are done with the conversation, you can also choose to share the replies through links or Word/ PDF docs. My general experience with ChatSonic was positive, and I felt it could present information better than ChatGPT because of its access to the Internet and the latest information.
Besides text, Chatsonic also has a built-in image generator that makes decent images out of the prompts you give. While the bot is not free, it gives you 25 free generations every day, post which you can use your Writesonic word balance to generate more images. If you want more, check out the long-form plan that starts as low as $12.67 per month. Moreover, you can make use of this impressive ChatGPT alternative using its browser extension and an Android app.
Colossal Chat is one of the few AI models that goes completely away from ChatGPT. A powerful ChatGPT alternative, Colossal’s language model is based on a mixture of Meta’s LLaMA model and an RHLF pipeline which is a reinforcement learning system. This makes the AI a very capable alternative to ChatGPT which can respond while learning from its chats.
During our use of Colossal, the chatbot performed quite well. It was easily able to hold various conversations, compose proses, write code, and much more. The responses are much quicker than some of the other ChatGPT alternatives out there. It also has a multi-turn ability and decent memory retention. While it did fail on one of our best ChatGPT prompts, that’s understandable since GPT-4 is a hard LLM to beat. Furthermore, Colossal requires no account creation or sign-up which is a big plus. Just excuse the occasional downtime since it’s under load.
If you’re interested in the chatting aspect of ChatGPT, you will be delighted to know that the AI chatbot is also available on WhatsApp now. Here’s our detailed guide on how to use ChatGPT on WhatsApp.
Best ChatGPT Alternatives for Coding
Students are not the only ones who can benefit from tools like ChatGPT. Github Copilot X is the company’s solution for programmers who find themselves at their wit’s end. Copilot is based on the concept of auto-completion but goes much further than that. As such the tool helps programmers by suggesting and completing code and entire functions in real-time. Consider Copilot X has a helper as a tool to help with programmers’ block.
Github Copilot is on OpenAI’s latest GPT-4 model and has been trained on millions of lines of code. Copilot is compatible with all popular coding editors platforms including VS Code, Visual Studio, Neovim, and JetBrains. This intuitive ChatGPT alternative can also generate syntax in various languages including Javascript, PHP, BASH, and more.
GitHub has also introduced chat and voice for Copilot which will give users a ChatGPT-like experience and even GitHub Copilot Voice, where developers can verbally give natural language prompts. You can simply ask Copilot X for code improvements and it will suggest them in real time. Copilot X will also be able to pull in requests for AI-powered tags.
Besides writing code, Copilot X can give users an in-depth analysis and explanations of code blocks through the power of GPT-4. It supports pull requests, answers questions on docs, and provides a personalized developer experience. Copilot is priced at 10$ per month for individuals and $19 per user per month for businesses.
GitHub isn’t the only one helping out programmers. Amazon too has its own AI-based solution. Titled ‘Amazon Codewhisperer‘ the service is an AI-based software development tool. Codewhisperer is meant to help programmers help with their code. It does that by taking in feedback through comments and then suggesting proper code. Codewhisperer generates these recommendations in an integrated development environment (IDE).
Like Copilot X, Amazon Codewhisperer works across a variety of languages including Javascript, Python, C#, Java, and more. While less than GitHub, the variety of programming languages should be enough for developers. Amazon hasn’t stated which AI model the service is based on.
Furthermore, Codewhisperer while an Amazon-based service can still be used for independent purposes. So if you don’t want to use Amazon Web Services, you can stick to your own options. According to Amazon’s FAQ, Codewhisperer is currently free to use since it is in a preview period. Check out this ChatGPT coding alternative and tell us how you liked it.
While Microsoft’s DialoGPT has been superseded by GODEL AI, it remains a free and fun-to-use lighthearted AI. Dialo has been trained on 147 million multi-turn dialogues from Reddit, and hence, has a modest dataset. It also comes with support for multi-turn responses, meaning it will remember your previous replies. Since setting up Dialo yourself might be complicated, you can use HuggingFace’s inference API and try it out. The AI has listed a few prompts you can try out, or you can make one of yourself and have Dialo answer your queries.
DialoGPT’s responses are decent at best. Since the AI is geared towards being a bit cheery, it can get confused easily. When asked about a traumatic event, the AI said it doesn’t know about it but is sure it’s a good thing. As you might be able to tell, that’s not the case.
I did not find DialoGPT’s contextual awareness quite better either, as it kept forgetting what we were talking about. However, that could also be because it’s running on an API and not fully trained. It also lacks any added features such as model selection, mic input, or image generators.
DialoGPT is free to set up, but it’s not exactly the turn-of-the-age AI you might be hoping for. However, it will do the job if you just want a simple chatbot to talk with.
10. OpenAI Playground
From the start, it is worth noting that OpenAI Playground is a tool not meant for daily users. However, if you find yourself locked out of ChatGPT and still want a taste of its capabilities, OpenAI Playground is the way to go. This web-based tool works like ChatGPT but provides much more advanced options, including the ability to select a specific language model to experiment with.
Once you have selected the model, you can tinker with other factors such as the model’s randomness, number of tokens, frequency penalty, stop sequences, and more. As you can tell by now, OpenAI Playground isn’t something that is plug-and-play and meant for everyday users. However, for those who know what they are doing and want to experiment with the different models before building an AI tool, it provides immense customization.
Since OpenAI Playground is simply a demo version of the ChatGPT service, its outputs are on par with ChatGPT and give a good feel of the actual service. You can try out some cool ChatGPT prompts mentioned in this article. The bot takes input and provides an accurate enough response, depending on the language model. This chatbot demo also supports speech-to-text inputs, and you can even upload an audio recording.
Unlike some AI bots, Playground doesn’t slow down and responds on the fly. It’s also free to use, provided you sign up for an account. If you can’t access ChatGPT, give OpenAI Playground a try. However, do be aware that you might lose access just like ChatGPT if the server is in high demand.
