Unveiling ChatGPT’s Gaps Amidst Assistant Prowess

“Hey Google, Arbab!” I voice these words to Google Assistant, promptly landing in my Twitter DMs with my friend Arbab. This sequence unfolds due to a tailored shortcut I designed for Google Assistant on my phone. Applying the same command to ChatGPT, the result is a sadly predictable response: “I'm sorry, but as an AI language model, I do not have access to personal contact information such as phone numbers or email addresses.”

This singular hurdle is just one of several that confront you when integrating ChatGPT while sidestepping the mainstream contenders like Google Assistant. One might ponder why ChatGPT—hailed by enthusiasts as the paramount consumer-facing AI in 2023—falters so spectacularly in executing something as elemental as sending a message.

The year 2023 is touted as the epoch of AI-induced transformation. From radical work dynamics and employment shifts to copyright tussles and altering the ordinary internet search approach. While this might resemble a crypto scheme, the AI surge has genuinely manifested as a tangible influence in our digitally connected lives. The quintessential embodiment of this AI uprising is ChatGPT.

Recommended Videos

Yet, veering away from the domain of AI hype and plunging into the realm of practical utility, ChatGPT still lags behind the triumvirate of widely embraced AI assistants—Alexa, Google Assistant, and Siri. The ensuing situations showcase instances where your “mundane” AI assistant holds a decisive advantage over OpenAI's groundbreaking AI marvel.

Also like: ChatGPT Finds a New Home on Snapchat: Your AI Comrade

Seamless Accessibility and Matchless Adaptability

Before delving into the details of capabilities and constraints, let's commence with the paramount prerequisite: accessibility. You can beckon Google Assistant directly from your phone's lock screen. While manual setup is necessary, once configured, it's incredibly straightforward. Amazon's Alexa and Apple's Siri extend the same convenience.

A suitable voice command and the AI assistant springs into action. ChatGPT, however, lacks the lock screen convenience. This can be attributed to the absence of a dedicated ChatGPT app by OpenAI. Access requires launching a browser app on your phone and navigating to the ChatGPT page.

The best you can do is employ Safari, access the ChatGPT website, and establish a Home Screen shortcut. Alternatively, you can craft a Siri automation shortcut for ChatGPT, but even so, unlocking your iPhone remains obligatory for the command chain to initiate, directing you to the ChatGPT conversation page within your chosen browser. Given that this technology is poised to revolutionize our digital existence, such a demanding initiation appears far from ideal.

Ask Siri about local cafes, and it conjures a map exhibiting various cafes in your proximity. The AI assistant can even make a call on your behalf. If you're inclined towards Google's AI assistant, it's even capable of screening incoming calls for you. Google goes a step further by enabling you to preserve transcripts of your Assistant interactions. It's adept at reading web page content, commencing music or TV shows on your chosen streaming platform, and interjecting with a light-hearted joke to disrupt monotony.

Assistant Empowerment Extending Beyond Phones Alone

While ChatGPT possesses the entirety of global knowledge at its disposal, it falters in proficiently executing tasks on your phone. True, ChatGPT can compose assignments, craft stellar resumes, and even assist with coding. Yet, these aren't daily activities. ChatGPT cannot pull up tomorrow's meeting schedule, dim your bedroom lights, or initiate a call to a friend via a preferred app.

Siri can accomplish this, as can Google Assistant and Alexa. Whether we like it or not, our lives remain closely entwined with our phones and the apps they house. A swift voice command to Siri, for instance, can connect you with your closest companion. Meanwhile, Google Assistant can open your WhatsApp chat with a mere phrase, regardless of your language or accent.

Commanding an app installation on your phone through voice activation is within reach. This extends to payments, social media, calendars, ticket reservations, and more. The true prowess of these AI assistants lies in their ability to navigate both the content stored on your device and the boundless expanse of information on the internet.

ChatGPT merely serves as a conduit to the internet, incapable of interacting with apps or files on your phone. Consequently, it remains entirely detached from your digital existence and the interconnected devices in your home, office, and vehicles. To illustrate, Google Assistant can orchestrate music playback on a speaker located in my living room. ChatGPT, on the other hand, remains disengaged from any device interaction!

Simplifying Life, One Shortcut at a Time

While these assistants might appear simplistic, given their concise responses, they outshine ChatGPT and Google's Bard in substantial ways. Nevertheless, this convenience has limits. For tangible tasks, the on-device assistants far outpace ChatGPT. One particularly potent tool is the assistants' knack for creating shortcuts—transforming multi-step processes into single voice commands.

Let's delve into Google Assistant's Routines. Preloaded with six common scenarios, this app streamlines tasks for a more efficient existence. Routines cater to bedtime, commute, morning, leisure at home, and departure from home.

Consider the preset routine “commuting to work.” When you voice the command “Let's go to work,” Google Assistant triggers four actions. It commences by providing traffic status between your home and workplace, relays weather updates, narrates the day's calendar events, and then serenades you with music during your tube or car journey. You can customize various elements, such as selecting a specific playlist, artist, or musical genre.

For further precision, Shortcuts abbreviate multi-step tasks to single voice commands. For instance, a prompt like “Hey Google, book an Uber” will launch the Uber app, positioning you on the ride booking page. If Siri is your preference, Apple's assistant offers elevated flexibility and an extensive array of command control, incorporating every installed iPhone app.

ChatGPT Is History, but Assistants Are Current

“I don't possess real-time information on IPL match outcomes or any live events,” declares ChatGPT when queried about the previous night's IPL cricket match victor. In contrast, Google Assistant supplies precisely the information sought, even providing captivating highlight videos from the game. Now, that's convenience!

The paramount distinction—and a deciding factor for many users, myself included—is that ChatGPT's data only extends up to 2021. This limitation arises from the data used to train OpenAI's language model, spanning back to 2021, and a coded avoidance of addressing current events to mitigate bias.

This severe limitation greatly diminishes ChatGPT's practical utility in daily life. Whereas Google Assistant, Siri, and Alexa seamlessly integrate with the evolving internet, updating with each passing second and enriching their information bank. From real-time weather and traffic updates to sports scores and critical emergency alerts, these assistants emerge as rescuers—ChatGPT excluded.

However, this is merely the tip of the iceberg. Google, in particular, seamlessly incorporates its assistant with the abundance of information accessible via its Search engine. Discovering enticing product deals or hotel reservations becomes effortless, merely a sentence away. Alexa, on the other hand, populates your Amazon cart with your desired products. ChatGPT disappoints in shopping or vacation planning, furnishing only verbose suggestions.

Even when these virtual assistants function as your knowledge repository, they outpace ChatGPT in a critical aspect. When you question Google Assistant, it presents pertinent web search outcomes, allowing you to instantaneously explore links for more information. This approach also enhances contextual understanding and firsthand source validation.

Conversely, ChatGPT acts more as an internet summarizer. When it delivers an answer, spanning several paragraphs, it omits any indication of the information's source. Moreover, generative AI models are prone to errors, bias, and factual inaccuracies. In essence, relying blindly on ChatGPT's or similar products' information regurgitation isn't advised.

The Path Forward

OpenAI's conversational AI has ignited a renaissance in the tech realm. Microsoft and Google are racing to infuse AI intelligence into their products, used by millions globally. From composing and summarizing emails to crafting professional presentations, we're on the brink of a transformative shift in human-computer interaction.

The New York Times published a thought-provoking piece titled “How Siri, Alexa and Google Assistant Lost the A.I. Race.” However, this narrative predominantly focuses on the AI race among the world's most influential companies. Remarkably, it overlooks the plethora of practical tasks where Google Assistant, Alexa, and Siri outshine ChatGPT.

This status quo won't transform anytime soon. ChatGPT is impressive, bolstered by the recent GPT-4 enhancements, yet these advancements won't render AI assistants obsolete. Instead, a well-fused integration of AI intelligence will enhance the productivity of virtual assistants, rather than relegating them to obsolescence.

Explore more:

Press ESC to close