YouChat- a worthy competitor to ChatGPT?
These are certainly exciting times for the world of AI chatbots. In November , OpenAI launched ChatGPT, an AI based conversational chatbot that took the tech world by storm. Next Quora launched POE (Platform for Exploration) built on Quora’s vast collection of crowdsourced questions and answers that allowed users to get instant answers and have a back-and-forth dialog with AI chatbots.
And now this week , the search engine you.com announced the availability of YouChat which is essentially a take on the company’s search engine capabilities wrapped as an AI chatbot that allows users to have a stateful conversation.
Since ChatGPT is today considered the “Gold Standard” of AI chatbots, it is only natural that I decided to compare YouChat with ChatGPT ( you can read my blog on ChatGPT here – https://thenontechieguy.com/index.php/2022/12/05/chatgpt-exciting-times-ahead-for-conversational-chatbots/)
Much like ChatGPT , YouChat can hold a conversation with end users by remembering the context and do all other “magical” stuff like writing code , reciting poems, summarizing historical events , explaining scientific theorems, give sound life advice etc.
Then how is YouChat different from ChatGPT? I have tried to summarize this in below points:
1. The responses from YouChat didn’t seem to be as comprehensive and detailed as compared to ChatGPT. This was particularly pronounced for tech related queries where ChatGPT provided more better examples and more complete inputs. This may have a lot to do with the fact that YouChat is still in beta and is likely to improve based on user feedback.
2. I felt that YouChat was less capable than ChatGPT in holding a coherent conversation with context. This was particularly pronounced as you tried to work through a technical question such as “Can you explain the syntax of SQL Join statement with examples”. ChatGPT was able to understand feedback from user and provide additional information and examples to help explain the concept more clearly.
3. YouChat attributed some of its responses to websites. I saw this trend for questions which were scientific in nature ( e.g. How many calories are there in a boiled egg?). This I feel was useful as users could click on the links provided and read more information if needed.
4. YouChat seemed to have a more current and updated response to questions. This is primarily due to the fact that YouChat is essentially a search engine that can traverse the web for user queries vs ChatGPT which has a limited knowledge of the world and events post 2021)
5. YouChat was able to answer questions on ChatGPT but not the other way around. This is in reality an extension of point 4
6. YouChat has a personality compared to ChatGPT which time and again asserts that’s it an artificial intelligence program and thus cannot have human like emotions and feelings. In my brief interaction with YouChat , I understood that it’s favorite poem was “If” by Rudyard Kipling , it had a happy childhood, was greatly pained by transatlantic slave trade and that its favorite sporting memory was the New England Patriot’s Super Bowl win in 2019. This made YouChat more endearing to work with.
7. YouChat is still in beta mode and ChatGPT is not. This was confirmed by the respective chatbots when posed the question “Are you in beta?”. YouChat additionally also confirmed that premium features are expected sometime in the future.
On account of the above arguments , I find YouChat to be a very serious and compelling offering in the world of AI chatbots. I look forward to the premium features as and when they are released.
The chatbot wars are getting fiercer by the day. How each of them monetize themselves may prove crucial to their long term viability.
You can try YouChat at this link –www.you.com
Do share your feedback in the comments about your interaction with YouChat and ChatGPT and do weigh in with your verdict.
