Last Updated on September 4, 2024
ChatGPT – the artificial intelligence (AI)-powered chatbot that has been making waves in the last few months – is a classic example of AI’s immense capabilities. Developed by renowned AI research company OpenAI and released in November 2022, ChatGPT uses natural language processing (NLP) algorithms to engage in conversations in a variety of topics, including philosophy, politics, and history.
The chatbot can respond to rudimentary questions with remarkable accuracy, which explains its extensive application in customer support services. It also serves as a generative software that can whip articles or song lyrics in a matter of seconds. Programmers can also use this innovative bot to edit their codes.
However, ChatGPT has its limitations. The most notable one being that the chatbot’s systems are ever crowded. Many users have reported getting a message that the bot is at its capacity or momentarily down when they try to log in.
ChatGPT is also less effective at generating real-time data as it has been trained on information from and before 2021. The chatbot’s other limitations include the inability to generate visuals or voice responses, lack of integration with other productivity apps (such as Gmail, Twitter, or Instagram), and the rather exorbitant subscription fees (which costs $20 per month).
Fortunately, ChatGPT isn’t the only chatbot around. There are dozens of other software that provide similar or even better services.
Below is a rundown of the best ChatGPT alternatives in 2023.
1. OpenAI Playground
Pricing: Token-based
OpenAI Playground functions like a demo version of ChatGPT. The bot offers a platform for users to play around with OpenAI’s GPT-3 model, hence the name.
Playground’s web version works just like ChatGPT. The platform allows you to experiment with numerous language models. It can understand human intent better and provide accurate, context-specific answers to rather complex questions. The bot can also sustain conversations far more coherently than ChatGPT. And with lots of customizable features, Playground undoubtedly beats ChatGPT in many fronts.
But while OpenAI Playground provides many features you’ll find in ChatGPT, the tool’s major limitation is its technical user interface. Playground also lacks consumer-focused publicity. These explain why it didn’t generate as much buzz as ChatGPT.
That said, Playground can be an excellent choice for users with advanced programming and artificial intelligence knowledge. Experienced users can unlock a number of functions, including setting temperature, number of tokens, frequency penalty, and stop sequences.
It’s also worth noting that while ChatGPT is far more popular than OpenAI Playground, the latter uses a larger and significantly more powerful artificial intelligence model. Many critics consider Playground one of the most powerful AI language models ever developed.
2. Contents.com
Pricing: Free Trial with multiple plans to choose from.
Contents.com is the platform that offers you a comprehensive solution for creating successful content. Thanks to the massive AI technology powered by GPT-4, Contents.com allows you to generate SEO-optimized texts, engaging images, and much more. With dozens of customizable templates, you can easily create copy for your social media posts, product descriptions for your e-commerce, informative blog articles, and even scripts for promotional videos.
Contents.com supports you in creating high-performing and high-quality content, allowing you to save valuable time in your marketing strategy. Harness the power of Contents.com’s generative AI and transform your communication innovatively and effectively.
3. Auto-GPT
Pricing: Free
Auto-GPT shares one fundamental similarity with OpenAI Playground – both software implement a technical user interface that makes them somewhat unideal for beginners. Auto-GPT users further need to know how to code with Python. That said, this ChatGPT alternative comes with plenty of redeeming features.
First off, Auto-GPT is 100% free to use. That’s a welcome relief for those who cannot afford the $20 monthly subscription fees that ChatGPT charges.
Auto-GPT also runs on OpenAI’s GPT-4 large language model (LLM). Note that this is the exact model used by ChatGPT. So, if you’ve interacted with ChatGPT before, you’ll be able to navigate Auto-GPT’s platform without much difficulty.
As the name implies, Auto-GPT is semi-autonomous. What does this mean?
When trying to come up with, say, interior design ideas with ChatGPT, you’ll typically ask the bot the prompt and wait for a response. You’ll then ask follow-up questions to tweak the idea. With Auto-GPT, you’d simply set your interior design goals and let the tool handle the rest. That includes asking and responding to follow-up questions.
Auto-GPT’s semi-autonomy is a welcome time-saving feature, especially when you’re trying to brainstorm ideas on multiple subjects.
4. Bing Chat
Pricing: Free
Bing Chat, also known as Bing AI, is an AI chatbot developed by tech giant Microsoft and released on February 7, 2023. The bot is built on top of OpenAI’s GPT-4 LLM. It has been fine-tuned on reinforcement and supervised learning techniques to improve its accuracy and speed.
Bing Chat can perform most of the functions as ChatGPT. You can engage with the software on meaningful conversations and generate different types of content with it, including articles, poems, and song lyrics. But unlike ChatGPT, this bot can even create a variety of AI images, including logos and drawings.
Bing AI is also trained to provide real-time information and insights on the web pages currently open in your browser. The fact that the bot comes as a Bing search engine extension allows it to crawl the web to find the most relevant and accurate answers to your queries. The software supports 40 different languages.
This chatbot is also user-friendly. It uses an interface that’s nearly similar to that of ChatGPT. To unlock the bot, you’ll simply need to enter your prompt and let it do the rest.
However, unlike ChatGPT, Bing AI provides several follow-up prompts and even cites its sources. Besides, you can tweak the bot to be more creative or precise with its answers.
5. Stable LM by Stability AI
Pricing: Free
When you visit Stability AI’s home page, you’ll be greeted with this message “we are the world’s leading open source generative AI company.” But what is it about this software developer that makes its chatbot a top ChatGPT alternative?
Well, Stability AI’s biggest success remains the Stable Diffusion AI image generator. However, the company recently launched an open-source large language model known as StableLM in April 2023, which is already giving ChatGPT a run for its money.
Stability AI’s chatbot stands out for its incredible speed and accuracy. The bot has been trained on billions of queries to provide the most accurate answers in split seconds.
Barely a month after StableLM’s release, millions of internet users are already heaping praises on this ChatGPT alternative. While still largely available on a trial basis, the software has proven easy to use.
StableLM is impressive at generating conclusive ideas and business plans using basic prompts. Many users have leveraged the bot to generate solid business plans complete with revenue projections and strategic goals.
6. CoPilot
Pricing: Plans start from $10/month; a free trial available
GitHub is one of the world’s leading code hosting and management platforms that support version control and collaboration. One of the company’s latest offerings is CoPilot, a content generative application that’s become quite popular with programmers.
CoPilot utilizes OpenAI Codex’s GPT-3 model to auto-complete prompts. Like ChatGPT, the software comes with multi-language coding support with an additional ability to generate syntax in up to 12 languages. These include JavaScript, PHP, Ruby/Swift/TypeScript, Go, Perl, and BASH.
The bot is compatible with popular coding platforms, including VS Code, JetBrains, and Neovim. It also supports cloud workflows with GitHub Codespaces.
Speedy text generation is CoPilot’s other unique selling point. The chatbot is powered by billions of lines of open-source code from numerous public repositories to generate accurate answers in a matter of seconds.
There are many other features that make CoPilot especially suitable for coders. These include the ability to convert natural language prompts into codes, filter out common vulnerable coding patterns, and block suggestions that match public code.
7. Amazon CodeWhisperer
Pricing: Free
Amazon, through its subsidiary Amazon Web Services (AWS), recently announced the release of an AI coding companion called CodeWhisperer.
This software utilizes machine learning and natural language processing algorithms to analyze and understand patterns in code snippets. It can generate efficient code solutions and even pinpoint potential coding bugs if well-prompted, making it a reliable ally for professional programmers.
Using Amazon’s CodeWhisperer, programmers can get insightful analysis into their coding patterns, including anticipating potential errors and performance issues. This can go a long way in minimizing the often-tedious and time-consuming process of code generation.
CodeWhisperer is also fairly easy to use. To unlock the software, you’ll need to head on to https://aws.amazon.com/codewhisperer/ and click on the “Sign up for preview.” Fill up the form and wait for a few days for an activation code to be emailed to you.
Once you have the activation code, install the AWS tool kit extension in your VS code, click on the AWS icon and select “CodeWhisperer (Preview)” under Developer Tools.” Click on “Enter Preview Access Code,” enter the code, check the Preview Terms, and click on “Accept and Enable CodeWhisperer.” You’re now ready to use your Amazon CodeWhisperer.
8. Jasper AI
Pricing: Plans start from $39/month; a free trial available
One of the first things you’ll note about Jasper AI is that its premium plans cost more than ChatGPT. In fact, this software is one of the most expensive ChatGPT alternatives. Plus, there’s no free plan.
But as you shall find, there’s a lot to gain by paying the monthly subscription fees, which start from $39 per month.
Jasper AI uses OpenAI’s GPT-3.5 model to summarize texts and then generate the next couple of lines out of them. The tool has proven effective at generating all manner of content, from blog posts to sales copies, social media threads, video scripts, and even product descriptions.
Jasper also comes with an in-built grammar and plagiarism checker. Therefore, you can be sure that all sentences generated by the bot are error-free and 100% original. You’ll only need to add a human touch to the write-ups to make them publish-ready.
This ChatGPT alternative maintains a massive library of over 50 templates to get you started. Even better is that you can customize these templates further to improve your experience on the platform.
9. Perplexity
Pricing: Free
It’s impossible to discuss ChatGPT alternatives without making significant references to Perplexity. And don’t let the name deceive you – this software’s interface is anything but complex. As a matter of fact, the bot’s dashboard is so intuitive that anyone can navigate it without needing any programming or AI knowledge.
Perplexity provides myriads of ChatGPT features. These include conversational responses and automated content generation.
The bot is also powered by the same OpenAI’s large language models that power ChatGPT. It trawls various information repositories, such as Wikipedia, YouTube, and Reddit, to provide accurate responses to complex queries in seconds.
Perplexity’s search bar is conspicuously located at the top center of its homepage. You simply type in your question and then hit the blue arrow. The bot will run the search in seconds to provide accurate answers while also indicating at the bottom of each response the resources it might have relied on for inspiration. You can stop there if satisfied or pose a follow-up question.
The cherry on the cake is that Perplexity is 100% free.
10. Character.ai
Pricing: Free
Character.AI does pretty much what the name implies – allowing you to create or activate characters and then engage them in meaningful conversations. Using this software, you can simulate real-life interactions with different kinds of characters, including historical figures, music artists, movie stars, and even fictional or mythical characters.
The bot maintains a large database of characters. Noteworthy mentions include political figures like Donald Trump and movie celebrities like Iron Man’s Tony Stark.
Another noteworthy area where Character.AI outsmarts ChatGPT is in its immersive and logical conversations. For instance, when you choose to engage with Donald Trump, the software will not bore you with generic political news. Instead, it will focus on topical issues touching on Trump’s persona. But that’s not all.
Character.AI simulates the style, tone, and mannerisms of the characters you interact with. That guarantees an even more realistic experience. Just remember that everything the characters say is totally made up.
And while Character.AI is primarily character-themed, it’s still possible to interact with the bot using a ChatGPT-style prompt. That’s all thanks to the Character Assistant feature.
11. ChatSonic
Pricing: Paid plans start from $12.67/month; a free trial version available
ChatSonic is an AI-powered chatbot by Writesonic, a household name in the artificial intelligence sector. The bot’s developers describe it as “crème de la crème of the AI chatbot universe.” And as you shall find, the app endeavors to live up to its description.
ChatSonic is similar to ChatGPT in the sense that both are conversational bots. The software is also built on OpenAI’s advanced model – GPT-4. It uses the combination of machine learning and natural language processing to generate accurate text responses to common queries. You can ask the chatbot pretty much any question you’d ask ChatGPT, with the difference being that the bot’s responses will be faster and more accurate.
ChatSonic also has access to the internet. And besides answering basic questions, the bot can also write essays. That explains its growing popularity among content creators. Simply type or paste a sentence and wait for ChatSonic to generate the next few lines relevant to the text. The number of sentences or paragraphs generated will depend on how you prompt it.
To use ChatSonic, you’ll need to log into your Writesonic account or register for an account if you don’t already have one. Next, select “Chatsonic” from Writesonic’s dashboard. Explore the tool’s numerous capabilities before interacting with it.
When ready to engage ChatSonic, enter the details of the content you wish to generate using ChatGPT AI – Chatsonic. The bot supports both text and audio chats. You only need to be as descriptive as possible to improve its overall accuracy. And for real-time trending information, remember to turn on “Include latest Google data.” After feeding in your prompt, hit “Send” and let ChatSonic do the rest.
Wrap Up
ChatGPT remains the most popular AI chatbot ever developed. But if you find the software’s limitations (such as the $20/month premium fees and heavy traffic) a bit overwhelming, then you might want to check out the above alternatives.
