Artificial Intelligence has come a long way in recent years, and the emerging natural language processing models today are ChatGPT and Perplexity AI.
Like ChatGPT, the OpenAI’s GPT model powers Perplexity and a Search engine interface.
Continue reading to learn in detail about the similarities and differences between ChatGPT and Perplexity AI.
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What Is ChatGPT And How Does It Work?
ChatGPT is an AI chatbot that OpenAI’s GPT language model powers.
You can easily access ChatGPT by signing up using your Google or Microsoft Account.
ChatGPT works on the fundamental model of GPT-3.5, NLP( Natural Language Processing) and RLHF( Reinforcement Learning from Human Feedback).
Furthermore, some of its unique features include the following:
- ChatGPT can write, edit and debug codes in different programming languages.
- It can translate more than 95 natural languages.
- ChatGPT can summarize your favorite stories, movies and websites.
- It can perform complex mathematical calculations.
- Writing Professional looking Emails, Blogs, and Cover letters
Moreover, did you know the GPT-4 model was launched on March 14, 2023?
The new GPT-4 model extends the capabilities of the previous version and has some more exciting features.
We can get a glimpse of the potential of the GPT-4 model if we upgrade to ChatGPT Plus.
What Is Perplexity AI And How Does It Work?
Perplexity AI is a search engine powered by an AI chatbot interface.
The Company is based in San Franciso and was created in August 2022.
Furthermore, it answers the queries using the same model as ChatGPT(GPT-3.5 model), NLP and ML(Machine Learning).
Perplexity AI is ChatGPT with the Internet because it uses the same model as ChatGPT and has access to the Internet.
Moreover, it holds some unique and amazing features.
- It provides citations to the results of the queries making it a reliable source.
- Users do not need to create an account to access it, making it a secure and private platform.
- It supports the Chrome extension and is also recently available on iPhones.
- Perplexity uses Bird SQL, a Twitter interface that helps you search for tweets mentioning a specific keyword.
- It can also help you summarize texts, which can be concise or detailed to meet your requirements.
While ChatGPT is only available on Web/Saas platform, Perplexity AI is now available on iPhones.
ChatGPT Vs. Perplexity: Similarities
ChatGPT and Perplexity AI are language models that process and understand natural language.
They train on vast amounts of textual data to develop the ability to generate coherent responses to various prompts and questions.
Furthermore, both models rely on deep learning techniques like neural networks to perform language processing tasks.
Therefore, they are similar in interacting with users conversationally.
One of the key similarities between ChatGPT and Perplexity AI is that they both utilize the concept of Perplexity to evaluate the quality of their language models.
Another similarity is that they use the same model of GPT Created by OpenAI, NLP and ML as their foundation.
You can observe the working of the model in the figure below.
Step 1: Fine-Tuning
A prompt is selected from the dataset, and the labeler demonstrates the desired output behavior.
This data is used to fine-tune GPT 3.5 with supervised learning.
Step 2: Data Collection And Training Reward Model
Further, the prompt and several model outputs are sampled.
The labeler ranks the output from best to worst, which is used to train the reward model.
Step 3: Optimize Reward Model Using Reinforcement Learning
Hence, the labeler selects a new prompt from the dataset.
Fine-tune generates output; the reward model calculates a reward for the output. The reward helps to update the fine-tuning using PPO.
ChatGPT Vs. Perplexity: Major Differences
While ChatGPT and Perplexity AI share some similarities as language models, there are also significant differences in their design, training data, and functionality.
Let’s quickly look at the comparison between ChatGPT and Perplexity AI.
| Specifications | ChatGPT | Perplexity AI |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | The main purpose of ChatGPT is to interact in a conversational way. | Perplexity is a search-and-answer engine that delivers concise answers to complex questions. |
| Cost | ChatGPT plus is available for $20/month. | Perplexity AI is free to use for all users. |
| Uses | ChatGPT is used for writing codes, making calculations, translate information and more. | We can use Perplexity AI to generate text, recognize speech and machine translation. |
| Model | ChatGPT is powered by OpenAI GPT-3 family. | Perplexity is also powerd by GPT model but it includes the search engine interface. |
| Platforms | The only platform that supports ChatGPT is Saas/Web. | Perplexity AI supports Web/Saas platform and also available in iPhones. |
Furthermore, let’s look at the differences between ChatGPT and Perplexity AI in detail.
1. Real-Time Content
One of the most significant drawbacks of ChatGPT is that it can not provide real-time content.
If we ask ChatGPT about today’s weather or events after its training data, it won’t provide any information.
Furthermore, we asked ChatGPT about the World Cup 2022, and it responded as follows;
However, Perplexity AI provides real-time information and all the content ChatGPT can offer.
Here is the response of Perplexity AI about the same query of World Cup 2022.
ChatGPT cannot keep up with current events because of its limited training data.
Hence, one of the significant differences between ChatGPT and Perplexity AI is the content they can generate.
2. Voice Command
In the iPhone version of Perplexity AI, we can ask our queries with its voice command feature.
We can quickly ask questions using this feature, an essential feature in a mobile device.
However, there is no feature like voice command in the Web/SaaS version of the ChatGPT.
It can only respond to your queries through text input.
The voice command feature sets Perplexity AI different from the ChatGPT.
3. Price Differences
You can use ChatGPT and Perplexity AI’s free version without any cost.
However, the ChatGPT Plus version has additional features and costs $20 monthly.
Meanwhile, there is no such premium version of Perplexity AI, which costs any subscription.
You can use all the features in the Web and mobile versions of Perplexity cost-free.
4. Training Data
ChatGPT is trained on a massive amount of 570GB of data, including books, articles and scientific papers.
This enormous corpus of data allows ChatGPT to generate responses that sound natural and human-like.
Conversely, Perplexity evaluates other language models’ quality by measuring how well they can predict the next word.
While it is also a language model that uses deep learning techniques, it is lighter and more efficient than ChatGPT.
Furthermore, ChatGPT is a more complex model than Perplexity AI, primarily because it has a more significant number of parameters.
ChatGPT has 175 million parameters, a significantly more significant number than the parameters in Perplexity AI.
5. Intended Use Cases
ChatGPT was designed primarily for generating human-like text in response to prompts.
Furthermore, it was trained on a massive amount of text data to learn the patterns and structures of human language.
Making it well-suited for chatbots and other conversational AI applications.
However, Perplexity AI aims to improve the efficiency and accuracy of natural language processing techniques.
Furthermore, it includes language modeling, machine translation, text classification, and sentiment analysis.
ChatGPT is an excellent choice for chatbots, virtual assistants, and other conversational AI applications.
On the other hand, Perplexity is a valuable asset for organizations that rely on natural language processing for their operations.
6. Platforms Supported
ChatGPT only supports a platform that is Web/SaaS (Software as a Service). It is not available on any mobile devices or other platforms.
Meanwhile, Perplexity AI is readily available on all Web browsers.
We can also download the iPhone version of the Perplexity AI. Moreover, you cannot download the ChatGPT on your desktop or phone.
The Bottom Line
ChatGPT and Perplexity AI are similar in different aspects, like sharing the same model of GPT and utilizing the concept of Perplexity.
However, they differ in prices, training data, features like voice commands, and the platforms they support.
Hopefully, this article helps you give a glimpse of a comparison between ChatGPT and Perplexity AI.
