OpenAI took the world by storm when it released ChatGPT to the public in late 2022, igniting conversations about the future of work, creativity, and communication. For people new to AI large language models, it’s often the first chatbot they turn to.
AI tools like ChatGPT are evolving faster than ever, which can make it challenging to choose the right one for your needs. But finding a ChatGPT alternative that truly resonates with your specific tasks and preferences can unlock new levels of productivity. Read on to learn how to choose the right tool and what chatbots are currently available.
What to consider when choosing a ChatGPT alternative
What’s better than ChatGPT? It depends on what you use AI tools for. Here are three factors to consider before you hit the “subscribe” button.
- Functions
Start by asking yourself: How can a chatbot improve my workflow? Make a list of daily tasks and regular challenges you might want help with. Be specific and realistic. Large language models are increasingly specialized, so it’s possible to find something that works for your exact needs.
Here are ways AI tools enhance efficiency:
- Automate communication: If you struggle to find the right words, AI tools can respond to emails, draft reports, and generate meeting summaries for you.
- Streamline research: Do you need to gather information quickly? Specialized AI tools can compile data, summarize articles, and extract key insights from reports. This can significantly reduce research time, giving you more space to focus on analysis and strategy.
- Enhance creativity: If you’re in the creative field, AI is a go-to brainstorming partner. Whether you’re drafting marketing copy, generating blog ideas, or writing video scripts, AI provides fresh perspectives and inspiration.
- Assist with technical tasks: Coders and programmers can always benefit from an extra pair of eyes. Some AI tools analyze programming languages, find bugs, and generate comments.
- Personalize customer interactions: Companies can use AI to analyze customer data and preferences, generating text for customer support responses. Tools that specialize in customer relationship management (CRM) can significantly streamline customer service, managing large volumes of interactions with human-like responses.
- Ease of use
Chatbots aren’t always intuitive, especially when technologies change and companies constantly push out updates. Look for AI tools with straightforward design, onboarding guides, and interactive tutorials to stay familiar with the tool’s features — without scratching your head about what to do.
Also, look for a tool that lets you customize your dashboard. This keeps your most-used features easily accessible, enhancing overall usability and saving you time.
- Available features
AI chatbots do a lot more than chat. Here are some features that can support your workflow and enhance productivity:
- Customizable templates for specific tasks, including emails, reports, and pitch decks
- Integration capabilities with project management tools and communication platforms
- Real-time collaboration to brainstorm, edit, and finalize projects with team members
- Multi-language support to help communicate more effectively with multi-lingual coworkers, customers, and clients
- Voice recognition and text-to-speech features to interact with the tool on the go
- Mobile accessibility with responsive designs on smartphones and tablets
- Security features that encrypt data and protect sensitive information
The 6 best ChatGPT alternatives of 2024
Want something a little more personal than ChatGPT? Prefer more integrations with other tools for ease of use? Here are six tools like ChatGPT to explore, including information about standout features, pros and cons, and pricing details.
- Google Gemini
Google’s ChatGPT alternative — previously Google Bard — received major upgrades and updates to its large language model before being rereleased as Google Gemini. For people who use Google’s apps to live and work, the obvious benefit of Gemini is its simple integration with Google Suite. It’s easy to transfer responses to Gmail, Google Docs, and Meet. Plus, Gemini can search for information on other Suite apps, including Flights, Maps, and YouTube.
- Pros: Pin chats for easy access, and communicate via written text or speech
- Cons: Google Gemini integrates with Google, Android, and Chrome, which limits its usability
- Price: Gemini Business is $20 per month per user
- Microsoft Copilot
Microsoft Copilot, formerly known as Bing Chat, uses OpenAI’s GPT models. Like Google Gemini, Microsoft Copilot is designed to work with Microsoft Edge and its suite of integrations and popular plugins (like Instacart and Kayak).
- Pros: The model's conversational tone is easy to customize, and Copilot cites sources and generates images, which is especially helpful for content creators and researchers
- Cons: Some responses come with ads, and Copilot is designed for Microsoft users, making it harder to integrate with other apps
- Price: Microsoft Copilot is $30 per month per user
- YouChat
YouChat is another advanced conversational language model that uses the GPT-4 model. It’s designed to personalize search capabilities on You.com — an AI-focused search engine. Simply ask YouChat a question, and you receive a ChatGPT-style conversational response or a list of relevant links. Other key features include generating imagery, code, and different types of written content.
- Pros: YouChat is great for searching for information to support content creation, especially if you need a source
- Cons: Users still need to verify YouChat’s sources, plus a limit of 10 pieces of free content, which might not be enough for regular users
- Price: YouChat offers a free option for simple Q&A, and pro plans begin at $20 per month per user
- OpenAI Playground
OpenAI Playground comes straight from the makers of ChatGPT. It’s designed to function as more than a simple chatbot, which is ideal for developers and researchers looking for a comprehensive toolbox of different AI models. Whether you want to brainstorm new ideas or build a new app, OpenAI Playground can help you out.
- Pros: The simple interface helps you manage several customizable prompts and AI models without getting overwhelmed, plus there’s a robust library of tutorials and resources.
- Cons: Highly customizable use and technical knowledge requirements make OpenAI Playground a bit complex for everyday usage
- Price: This model has a unique pricing system that charges by tokens (or words) used, so you should contact OpenAI Playground’s sales team for more accurate pricing
- Jasper Chat
Content writers rejoice! Jasper Chat is an AI writing generator that integrates seamlessly with Grammarly, Surfer, and other workflow apps. It’s the best option for creating long-form content instead of simple questions and answers.
- Pros: Jasper Chat is an all-in-one AI tool for content creation, with customizable SEO-optimized templates to build YouTube scripts, blog content, web copy, and social media profiles. Although it uses the same OpenAI GPT models, many users note a more conversational tone for more streamlined content production
- Cons: Jasper Chat’s pricing model is one of the most expensive offerings on the market, which might make it unaffordable for individuals and small businesses
- Price: A creator subscription starts at $49 a month, with advanced pro plans at $69 a month per user for up to five users
- Chatsonic
Chatsonic by Writesonic is designed to fill in the gaps in ChatGPT’s conversational AI and data sourcing. Although Chatsonic uses the GPT-4 model for outputs, the large language model integrates with Google Knowledge Graph to provide real-time information, taking it a step above the rest.
- Pros: Personalize the AI chatbot using several personas, including translators and motivational coaches, plus Chatsonic is capable of asking follow-up questions to improve the quality of its responses
- Cons: Both the free trial and paid subscriptions have word limits, and individual users may need to purchase extra credits to keep up with work
- Price: Individual users pay $15 monthly, while team plans begin at $79 per month per user or $199 per month for three users
What about ChatGPT for meetings?
There are plenty more alternatives to ChatGPT. But if you need the ultimate productivity tool — one that doubles as a meeting assistant and transcription expert — look no further than Otter.
Otter AI Chat is a chatbot that goes one step further to turn team meetings into powerful productivity sessions. Whether you’re in a live meeting or watching a recording, you can generate summaries, find and assign action items, and create content based on the conversation. Soon, you’ll be saying, “This email could’ve been a meeting.”
Otter AI Chat is your team's ChatGPT upgrade
ChatGPT alternatives are built with purpose, helping tackle specific tasks in your workflow. And when it comes to maximizing meetings, Otter.ai is one-of-a-kind.
Ready to propel your meetups with meeting summaries, follow-up content, and actionable next steps? Get started today.
