At first I found ChatGPT to be better than googles AI, but not so sure now

Assessing AI Tools for Information Retrieval: A Personal Experience with ChatGPT and Google’s AI

In the rapidly evolving landscape of artificial intelligence, users often compare various AI tools to enhance their research and information gathering processes. Recently, I’ve been evaluating the effectiveness of ChatGPT, especially its free version, against Google’s AI offerings. Initially, I found ChatGPT to be superior in providing detailed and accurate responses. However, my recent experiences have prompted a reassessment of its reliability.

Historically, ChatGPT has been my go-to for research queries, often delivering comprehensive answers that exceeded my expectations. Yet, over the past few weeks, I’ve noticed a shift in the quality of information it provides — particularly in scenarios involving recent news or developments. For example, I was researching recent changes to a specific government program. Initially, ChatGPT provided an answer that contradicts the latest news reports I had seen.

When I requested ChatGPT to verify the information with recent updates, it insisted that its original response was correct. Frustrated, I resorted to using Google’s AI for clarification. This time, Google’s AI confirmed the recent changes, referencing top search results, including official government websites (.gov domains). Upon sharing these links with ChatGPT, it acknowledged the updated information, but only after explicit prompting.

This experience underscores an important consideration for AI users: the accuracy and trustworthiness of AI-generated responses can fluctuate, especially concerning recent or dynamic information. While ChatGPT has been valuable in many contexts, recent inaccuracies have diminished my confidence in its ability to serve as a reliable fact-checking tool.

In conclusion, AI tools like ChatGPT and Google’s AI each have strengths and limitations. It’s crucial for users to remain vigilant and cross-reference information, particularly when dealing with rapidly changing data. As this technology continues to develop, ongoing evaluation and critical thinking will remain essential for effective and trustworthy use.

Disclaimer: This is a personal account and experiences may vary based on individual use cases and updates to AI systems.