Sure, it took amultibillion-dollar investmentfrom Microsoft to integrate OpenAI’s GPT-4 tech into its engine.
The thing is, I’m not really using Bing.
I’m actually using Copilot, Microsoft’s renamed AI chatbot that’s a part of Bing.
What makes Copilot unique is that it’s essentially three GPT engines in one.
Copilot has three modes: balanced, precise and creative.
That’s substantially more thanChatGPT 3.5, which has175 billion.
It can also give substantially larger responses, the equivalent of 300 pages of text.
It’s uncertain when Microsoft will bring the power of GPT-4 Turbo to Copilot’s balanced and precise modes.
Copilot is the best of both ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini.
It has the accuracy and fine-tuning of ChatGPT with the internet connectivity found with Gemini.
This means that answers read more like a human and it can pull up-to-date information from the internet.
Really, Copilot delivers such good results it’s a wonder why Microsoft isn’t charging for it.
While Copilot can generate images, we won’t be testing that feature for the purposes of this review.
How CNET tests AI chatbots
CNET takes a practical approach to reviewing AI chatbots.
Our goal is to determine how good it is relative to the competition and which purposes it serves best.
Seehow we test AIfor more.
This description fell in line with other testimonies I’ve seen on YouTube and Reddit.
Beyond sriracha sauces, I’ve also been in the market for a new TV.
Copilot in “creative” mode felt most like Claude.
Information was better synthesized and did feel like it was put together by a real person.
Gemini and Perplexity performed similarly, with sharp descriptions and little fence-sitting.
While all the AI chatbots performed well, I’d have to give the edge to Copilot and Claude.
Recipes
Sometimes finding a good recipe online can be a chore.
Popular dishes can vary wildly, making it difficult to find the best one.
Plus, having to scroll through long-winded preambles about memorable flavors of yore can get tiresome.
An AI can filter through all the fluff and generate recipes in an instant.
Copilot did a decent job of generating a chicken tikka recipe in creative mode.
I was curious what answer Copilot would yield if switching to precise mode.
Just because creative uses GPT-4 Turbo doesn’t mean it’ll give the best result to all queries.
Overall, Google Gemini performed best in this test, providing the most robust recipe.
This was followed by Copilot in precise mode.
ChatGPT 3.5, Perplexity and Claude all performed similarly, with very basic recipes.
Normally, this would require you having to read through research papers yourself to make these sorts of connections.
Copilot not only does this well, but links to sources, too.
Copilot gets excellent marks as a research tool.
It felt as if Copilot had a greater understanding of the topic and the complexities different schooling environments present.
And unlike Gemini, all of Copilot’s responses were real.
It didn’t make up the names of research papers in the way that Gemini did.
Can Copilot give you a good rundown of an article in a pinch?
Should you rely on article summaries for a class presentation?
Travel
The internet is glutted with travel recommendations.
But what about Columbus, Ohio?
We cross-referenced Copilot’s results withCNET’s Bella Czajkowski, who hails from Cowtown.
Copilot also did a great job weaving in bonus recommendations, something ChatGPT 3.5 and Gemini neglected to do.
All the restaurants Copilot recommended were real.
It didn’t make up restaurants like Google Gemini did.
And I have to hand it to the Microsoft team for coding Copilot to also bake emoji into responses.
It adds that slight hint of personality and makes following a lengthy set of travel recommendations easier to follow.
For example, if you want to pinpoint the bar recs, look for the beer emoji.
Compared to the AI bots tested, Copilot outperformed them all.
ChatGPT performed adequately, despite it not being connected to the open internet.
Writing emails
Like every other chatbot tested, Copilot performs great in writing basic emails.
Regardless of the tone you go with, emails read as believable.
All the other AI chatbots were able to take on this task.
The way Copilot presents information, often with bullet points and emojis, makes it easy to read.
Microsoft Copilot is excellent.
And it should be, right?
Gaining access to GPT-4 tech with ChatGPT requires a $20 monthly subscription.
