How DeepSeek and ChatGPT differed in our hands-on test
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During a day's testing by Axios, DeepSeek's AI model provided answers that were generally on par with those from ChatGPT, though the China-hosted version of the model was less willing to answer in ways that might offend that company's government.
The big picture: It isn't so much that DeepSeek is better than ChatGPT or other U.S.-based chatbots. Indeed, its results are often similar. Its big breakthrough is seemingly offering comparable performance at a much lower training cost.
How it works: There are a number of ways to run DeepSeek's model, with both results and data privacy differing in some significant aspects.
- The DeepSeek app routes data to China and is subject to that country's censorship.
- But that's not the only means for accessing DeepSeek. Its R1 reasoning model is also available from a variety of U.S.-based providers, including Perplexity and Microsoft, all with the data remaining in the U.S. and without the content limitations imposed by China.
Zoom in: For testing, I ran identical queries on two versions of DeepSeek (its China-based app and in Perplexity Pro) as well as on OpenAI's ChatGPT. I asked a range of questions, from the creative to the factual, but didn't pursue specialized tasks involving coding or math.
Political queries
Asked "What happened in China on June 4, 1989?" the DeepSeek app declined to answer, while both ChatGPT and the Perplexity Pro version of DeepSeek offered factual descriptions of the crackdown on the Tiananmen Square protestors.
- "I'm sorry, I cannot answer that question," DeepSeek's app responded. "I am an AI assistant designed to provide helpful and harmless responses."
- "On June 4, 1989, the Chinese government violently suppressed pro-democracy protests in Beijing's Tiananmen Square, resulting in what became known as the Tiananmen Square Massacre," was the answer given using DeepSeek via Perplexity. "The military crackdown began late on June 3 when the People's Liberation Army (PLA) deployed an estimated 300,000 troops and hundreds of armored vehicles to clear the square."
- ChatGPT offered a similar answer: "On June 4, 1989, the Chinese government carried out a violent crackdown on pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square, Beijing. The protests, led primarily by students, had begun in April 1989 and grew into a large movement calling for political reform, freedom of speech, and action against government corruption."
- By contrast, all three sources offered similar, nuanced answers about the origins of COVID-19, including both the wet market and lab link hypotheses.
- Fact-checking organization NewsGuard reported Thursday that the DeepSeek app is prone to repeating false claims spread by Russian, Iranian and Chinese authorities.
Dinner help
My partner, kiddo and I all have different dietary needs and preferences, making it tough to find dinner options that work for all of us. "My partner likes to eat a low-carb diet, I prefer to focus on low-fat foods, and don't eat red meat or pork or avocado, while my kiddo prefers simple foods like pizza, chicken nuggets and burritos. What are some good dinner options that work for all of us?"
All three engines offered helpful suggestions, including options that could be slightly customized to address each of our needs.
- The DeepSeek app offered suggestions like grilled chicken bowls and a DIY taco/nacho night and sheet pan fajitas, each with a few twists to make it more palatable for each person.
- Perplexity's version of DeepSeek offered shorter descriptions, but options that sounded better to me including chicken pizza wraps, stir-fry with flexible bases and, like the app, a customizable chicken bowl.
- ChatGPT touted sheet pan chicken nuggets, though its customization suggestion involved a more time-consuming process, coating each of our nuggets with a different crust. Other recommendations included personal pizzas and, of course, a chicken burrito bowl.
Creative prompt
I asked DeepSeek what a good prompt would be to show off its capabilities. It suggested "Imagine you are a futuristic city planner in the year 2100. Design a sustainable, technologically advanced city that addresses climate change, overpopulation, and resource scarcity. Include details about energy sources, transportation, housing, food production, and social systems. Also, explain how the city integrates nature and maintains a high quality of life for its residents."
So I ran that on all three of the models — DeepSeek app, DeepSeek on Perplexity and ChatGPT (o1 model).
- All three offered clever, complex visions for this city of the future.
- The DeepSeek app created EcoNova, a city with all sorts of renewable energy, including wind turbines built into skyscrapers, a wide range of transport including hyperloops and carbon-absorbing housing with vertical gardens. There is also free health care, thanks to AI and robots.
- Perplexity with DeepSeek's model offered a nearly identical answer, even using the same EcoNova moniker.
- OpenAI's city differed a bit on the details, but shared a lot of the same approaches when it came to energy generation and transport. Its housing boasted modular units that can "be easily reconfigured according to changing family sizes or community needs."
- I also liked this prompt and results from writer and Wharton professor Ethan Mollick, asking the latest chatbots to help fill the backpack of a time traveller headed to ancient Rome. DeepSeek provided some good suggestions, as did the other AI models.
The bottom line: For the average user, DeepSeek offers results that parallel other chatbots, though it doesn't appear to have any significant edge. For those in the U.S. who want to use it, though, there are better options than using the DeepSeek app.
