Not long after the public launch, ChatGPT was my go-to chatbot. I was impressed despite the frequent hallucinations of earlier models, and the novelty of Dall-E's image generation was captivating.
But a lot has changed in the past few years, including how quickly Google Gemini has advanced to levels that frankly surpass OpenAI’s ChatGPT models. Gemini has quickly become my daily AI tool for everything from setting daily reminders within Gmail to generating images.
While I still use ChatGPT regularly, Gemini has become my preferred AI, despite the strong competition. For me, it boils down to a few key advantages: an expansive context window, seamless Google Workspace integration, access to NotebookLM Plus, and other valuable perks such as Gemini Canvas.
1. Gemini is smarter
Because Gemini has a larger context window, it is a smarter chatbot. Just yesterday, Google announced the launch of Gemini 2.5, calling the chatbot the company’s most intelligent model yet.
Currently with a 1 million token context window with plans to move to 2 million, Gemini 1.5 Pro already boasts a 2 million context window, significantly surpassing ChatGPT Plus's 128,000 token limit.
Essentially, the larger the context window, the greater ability for the model to process extensive prompts, resulting in outputs that are more consistent, relevant and useful.
This translates to Gemini Advanced being able to process and remember roughly 3,000 pages of text in a single conversation, while ChatGPT Plus handles considerably less.
It is important to understand that the size of Gemini's context window can change based on the model that is being used. For example, Gemini 1.0 flash has a 1 million token context window.
Choosing Gemini over ChatGPT means I can get documents summarized faster or analyze extensive datasets and receive comprehensive feedback. I can ask questions about the documents and trust that the Gemini will remember the conversation at a later time when I need to refer back to it.
2. Improved workflow
Both Google's Gemini Advanced and OpenAI's ChatGPT Plus are integrating AI into essential workspaces, but their approaches differ.
Google deeply integrates Gemini into its Workspace suite, including Calendar, Gmail, Docs, Slides, and Sheets. While ChatGPT is partnered with Microsoft and is in their Microsoft 365 products.
As a user of both Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace, I find Google's integration far more holistic. Gemini's "brain" is woven throughout the Google ecosystem, whereas Microsoft's integrations often feel like add-ons.
For instance, while Copilot can summarize a Word document, Gemini can pull context from an email or presentation to tailor its summaries. This deep integration within Workspace enhances my experience.
Personally, I have found Copilot to be slightly intrusive by asking if I want something edited or rephrased. Gemini lets me work until I need it.
3. Gemini’s image generation is consistantly better
OpenAI just enhanced its image generating capabilities with a new model integrated within ChatGPT-4o. I went hands-on with it and found that the generated images are hit or miss.
The enhancement promised more realistic images from simple prompts, but that wasn’t entirely my experience. Yet, Gemini 2.0 Flash Experimental native image generation is so realistic that there really is no comparison to ChatGPT-4o.
4. NotebookLM Plus has been an absolute game changer
NotebookLM Plus is a significant draw for me. As a smart data warehouse, it transforms vast amounts of information into digestible audio elements. While the free version offers plenty for the casual user, NotebookLM Plus removes limitations on data aggregation, research and output.
By generating daily virtual podcasts about everything from the news to my kids’ school reports, I can get so much more done because I’m not starting at a screen reading.
The ability to change the AI's response style, as well as collaboration tools, further enhance this tools' capabilities. As someone who deals with significant amounts of documents and data, I can’t tell you how much time this feature has saved me.
5. Multimodal understanding
Gemini’s ability to analyze images directly has been incredibly useful for everything from identifying backyard plants to reading text within a photograph. Gemini is designed with a strong emphasis on understanding and processing information from various sources, including text, images, and video.
While ChatGPT is evolving in its multimodal abilities, Gemini's architecture is built to handle these diverse inputs more natively. For me, this had led to a more seamless and efficient experience and why I regularly choose Gemini instead of ChatGPT.
Bonus: Superior Google Search integration
Because Gemini is a Google product, it has very tight integration with Google Search. I have seen that edge in accessing and processing information from the web. When I’m working on a project that requires real-time info, Gemini can, in many cases, retrieve and synthesize that data very effectively.
This is especially useful when I need to confirm facts, or receive summaries of current events. Because of Gemini’s direct link to Google's vast information resources, I see it as a significant advantage in research and information-gathering tasks.
Final thoughts
While I use both chatbots regularly, I've transitioned from primarily using ChatGPT to Gemini to boost my daily productivity.
Both models possess powerful AI capabilities, and both can access up-to-date information. However, the combination of Gemini Advanced's expansive context window, Workspace integrations, NotebookLM Plus and bundled perks have proven the best for my daily workflow, making it my primary tool.
More from Tom's Guide
- I just tested Grok vs. DeepSeek with 7 prompts — here's the winner
- Google Gemini Gems now available to all users without a subscription
- DeepSeek R1 just got even smarter with a new upgrade — here's what's changed
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