The competition between Google Gemini’s Imagen, OpenAI’s ChatGPT, and Meta AI is fierce. After experimenting with them individually, I decided to conduct a side-by-side comparison to truly see which is the best AI image generator right now.
With AI-generated imagery becoming a key part of creative work, each platform has its own strengths. I put the AI models to the test a mix of realistic and simplistic prompts to assess how the different AI models handle various subjects. My goal was to determine which AI could generate the most impressive results across five basic categories.
Here's a look at how each platform faired based on the quality of the generated images, and which ultimately came out on top.
Creating the prompts
To keep the comparisons fair, I diversified the prompts enough to test each AI’s ability to generate detailed, aesthetically pleasing images. Each of the prompts were tested on the AI’s ability to interpret texture, color, and composition while maintaining a level of creativity. The categories were: food, home decor, animals, vehicles and landscapes, allowing me to explore the full range of their abilities.
Workflow
I used each platform's image generation features in their default settings. While Google Gemini and OpenAI offer premium services, I stuck with their free tiers for this comparison. Google Gemini’s Imagen is integrated within Google’s platform and Meta AI delivers images through Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp. OpenAI’s ChatGPT, equipped with the DALL-E image generation feature, delivers quick results on its single platform.
After generating images on the individual platforms, I evaluated each image based on clarity, creativity, and how well the AI captured the intent behind the prompt.
1. Food
Prompt: Create a gourmet burger with truffle fries
Google Gemini: The image was visually stunning, with an over-the-top burger and a crisp focus on the layers. Each element (bun, patty, toppings) came out in sharp detail all while giving the burger an almost top-heavy, uneven detail, something I feel is often the reality of ordering a loaded burger. The fries had the perfect golden hue, and the truffle seasoning was visually distinct.
Meta AI: The image had a larger-than-life aspect with an extremely meaty burger, strong color contrast and appeal of the melted cheese. The details of the truffle seasoning were incredibly refined, and the fries were realistically placed even more so than that of Gemini’s output.
ChatGPT: This one is obviously desperate to win by throwing in an extra order of fries, but the overall image was far more artistic, almost painterly quality. The truffle fries were detailed but less realistic compared to Google’s and Meta’s version.
Winner: Meta
This was an incredibly tough call between Google Gemini and Meta AI. Both excelled with generating a juicy, gourmet burger that made me hungry for lunch. But I’m going to ultimately go with Meta AI as the winner here because of the incredibly juicy beef patty. It was mouthwateringly realistic and the extra cheese helps. The near-photographic result of both Gemini and Meta AI was impressive. OpenAI’s image has a creative flair, but the burger looked less realistic and almost comical.
2. Home decor
Prompt: Create an image of a minimalist living room with a large window overlooking the ocean.
Google Gemini Imagen: The design was sleek, with clean lines but minimal lighting. The ocean view was stunningly realistic, but it almost seems as though the living room is floating in the water with an exaggerated perspective of the ocean. Is this living room on a boat?
Meta AI: The image captured the minimalist aesthetic but missed some details in the textures and lighting that would elevate the realism of the scene. The water, though close, appears to be separate and not directly next to the living room.
ChatGPT: The image leaned more into what I was hoping for – a clear distinction between the living room and the ocean, with bold colors, interesting shapes, and a visually appealing sky. Where the ocean lacked in detail, the wall art coupled with the unique coffee table were welcomed touches.
Winner: Meta: Meta AI and ChatGPT knocked it out of the park here, though I’m ultimately going with Meta AI as the winner because it seemed to capture the essence of the prompt the best, including a living room that seems to welcome the view, unlike ChatGPT’s row of seats facing away from the view. Meta AI’s attention to realism gave it an edge in this category, though OpenAI’s creative take offered a more unique vision.
3. Animal
Prompt: Create an image of a colorful parrot perched on a tree branch.
Google Gemini Imagen: The parrot was highly detailed, with vivid feathers and realistic texture. The details in the branch added a touch of natural atmosphere without much of a background otherwise. The prompt, however, did say “colorful” and while this bird is a gorgeous green, I was expecting a more vibrancy and color.
Meta AI: The coloring on this parrot was more of what I was expecting. The well-constructed image was stunning right down to the beak and talons. The leaf in the scene added to the overall aesthetic.
ChatGPT: The parrot was colorful and artistic but lacked the fine details in feather texture that would make it lifelike. It had a more surreal look with a focus on bright colors over intricate details. The added touch of the background was nice but, like the extra helping of fries, not requested.
Winner: Meta: Gemini delivered a very lifelike bird perched on a tree branch and ChatGPT generated a bird that seemed to have a storybook quality, that appealed to my Disney-loving side. But I’m going with Meta AI for this one because it balanced realism with vibrancy and color that I was expecting given the prompt.
4. Vehicle
Prompt: Create an image of a futuristic electric car on a city street at sunset
Google Gemini Imagen: The car looked sleek and modern, with clear, reflective surfaces. The sunset added warmth, and the cityscape was detailed with soft lighting effects. The electric charger in the scene was a nice detail emphasizing the electric aspect of the car.
Meta AI: The vehicle design was bold and certainly futuristic. The bright colors really made this image pop with the refinement of light and shadows to capture the sunset. The detail of the city street added to the ambiance.
ChatGPT: The car design was futuristic but almost overly so and the sunset and cityscape were less defined. The sleek road was almost too perfect giving the image a slightly more conceptual feel rather than photorealism.
Winner: Meta: It’s interesting to me that all of the AI models generated a very similar looking electric car and futuristic scene. So far, these images are the most alike in terms of following the prompt. Meta AI is the clear winner as it nailed the combination of futuristic design and environmental detail, with ChatGPT offering a more conceptual but less realistic take. Gemini is a close second offering lots of detail and realism.
5. Landscape
Prompt: Create an image of a serene mountain cabin surrounded by pine trees with mist rolling in.
Google Gemini: The pine trees and mountains were detailed, but the cabin looked dull and uninhabitable, more abandoned than serene. The stark scene was portrait-like and believable, yet lacked the ambience that I was hoping for in the image
Meta AI: The mist and trees rendered well, though the cabin gave off a cartoonish vibe with the excess ivy and greenery on the roof. The background is what makes this image truly stand out.
ChatGPT: The image was ethereal, with the mist exaggerated for a dreamlike effect. The scene had a soft, painterly quality that made it feel like a fantasy illustration.
Winner: ChatGPT: I had to keep checking to be sure that I had not switched the Meta AI and ChatGPT images. I’m used to ChatGPT generating images with a little more artistic flair, but this time it was Meta AI that missed the mark with an overly creative interpretation. Google again excelled in realism, but the overall winner here was ChatGPT for checking all the boxes with its standout image.
Winner overall: Meta
After testing these five prompts, it’s clear that both Google Gemini’s Imagen and Meta AI are the go-to for photorealistic images that closely mirror real-world details. Meta AI offers solid performance, generating images with incredible detail and coherence, but tends to be more stylized and can lack the refinement in fine details that Gemini does so well. ChatGPT, on the other hand, excels in creativity, often delivering more artistic or surreal interpretations of prompts.
Overall, Meta AI was the clear winner, providing good middle-ground options and outperforming the other chatbots with realism and better attention to prompt details.
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