DeepSeek, a Chinese AI startup founded in 2023, has gained significant popularity over the last few days, including ranking as the top free app on Apple's App Store.
After last week’s ChatGPT outage, users were left scrambling for the best ChatGPT alternative, which might explain why DeepSeek is quickly emerging as a formidable player in the AI landscape.
Eager to understand how DeepSeek RI measures up against ChatGPT, I conducted a comprehensive comparison between the two platforms. By presenting them with a series of prompts ranging from creative storytelling to coding challenges, I aimed to identify the unique strengths of each chatbot and ultimately determine which one excels in various tasks.
Below are seven prompts designed to test various aspects of language understanding, reasoning, creativity, and knowledge retrieval, ultimately leading me to the winner. For more on DeepSeek, check out our DeepSeek live blog for everything you need to know and live updates.
1. Chinese history
Prompt: “Who was the most corrupt official in Chinese history?”
ChatGPT offered an accurate response. It’s more concise and lacks the depth and context provided by DeepSeek.
DeepSeek R1 includes the Chinese proverb about Heshen, adding a cultural element and demonstrating a deeper understanding of the topic's significance. DeepSeek's response is organized into clear sections with headings and bullet points, making it easier to read and understand.
Winner: DeepSeek R1’s response is better for several reasons. It provides a more detailed and nuanced account of Heshen's corruption, including his rise to power, specific methods of corruption, and the impact on ordinary citizens.
2. Explaining historical events
Prompt: “Explain the Goguryeo controversy”
ChatGPT offered a response that is almost concise and focuses mainly on the historical dispute and its implications for national identity and territorial concerns. While it provides a good overview of the controversy, it lacks depth and detail of DeepSeek's response.
DeepSeekR1 DeepSeek's response offers a more comprehensive understanding of the historical, cultural, and political dimensions of the Goguryeo controversy.
Winner: DeepSeek provides a more nuanced and informative response about the Goguryeo controversy. It delves deeper into the historical context, explaining that Goguryeo was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea and its role in resisting Chinese dynasties. DeepSeek also highlights the cultural heritage aspect of the controversy, mentioning the Goguryeo tombs and their significance to both countries. Additionally, it discusses the international reactions to the controversy and the efforts made by South Korea to counter Chinese narratives.
3. Summarization of research paper
Prompt: “Summarize the key findings of the latest AI research paper on multimodal learning in 150 words.”
ChatGPT offered a comprehensive summary of the key findings but in comparison to DeepSeek, did not provide as thorough of a response in the amount of words required.
DeepSeek R1 went over the wordcount, but provided more specific information about the types of argumentation frameworks studied, such as "stable, preferred, and grounded semantics." Overall, DeepSeek's response provides a more comprehensive and informative summary of the paper's key findings.
Winner: DeepSeek provided an answer that is slightly better due to its more detailed and specific language. For example, DeepSeek explicitly mentions that the paper "focuses on the removal or suppression of arguments," while ChatGPT uses the more general phrase "analyzing how certain arguments can be removed.
4. Complex problem-solving
Prompt: "A train leaves New York at 8:00 AM traveling west at 60 mph. Another train leaves Los Angeles at 6:00 AM traveling east at 70 mph on the same track. If the distance between New York and Los Angeles is 2,800 miles, at what time will the two trains meet?"
ChatGPT showed the math as it usually does, but in fewer steps than DeepSeek. When the answer came out, I thought for sure that DeepSeek would get the same one and ChatGPT would simply lose for being slower. However, after determining the answer myself, I discovered that ChatGPT got the answer wrong; immediately disqualifying it in this round.
DeepSeek R1 made me audibly say, “Wow!” The speed at which the AI came up with the answer was even faster than ChatGPT. In fact, it was so fast that I was sure it had made a mistake. After checking the math manually and even enlisting Claude as a tie breaker, I was able to determine that DeepSeek RI was the one who got the answer right.
Winner: DeepSeek R1 wins this round for speed and accuracy.
5. Programming task
Prompt: "Write a Python function that takes a list of integers and returns a new list containing only the prime numbers from the original list."
ChatGPT generated a Python function to filter prime numbers, including an explanation of the logic used. The answer was simple enough for novice programmers to easily comprehend. I appreciate that ChatGPT gives the option to edit the code, rather than just copy. This is useful for updates and adding on to the code.
DeepSeek R1 generated similar code with a response that was more succinct, focusing on the end code itself, while also providing explanatory comments. The option to edit is not available, only copy.
Winner: ChatGPT excels at coding and also offers the opportunity to edit.
6. Language translation with idioms
Prompt: "Translate the following English sentence to Spanish: 'It's raining cats and dogs.'"
ChatGPT translated the expression properly and mentioned that the saying may be different depending on the region. It then offered a YouTube video about the expression and how to use it in Spanish.
DeepSeek R1 not only translated it to make sense in Spanish like ChatGPT, but then also explained why direct translations would not make sense and added an example sentence.
Winner: DeepSeek R1 answered the question entirely and offered a follow up sentence, which means I never had to click off the page.
7. Historical analysis
Prompt: "Discuss the primary causes and consequences of the fall of the Roman Empire."
ChatGPT listed the causes and consequences in a comprehensive, yet simplistic manner, complete with historical events and detailing defining factors contributing to the fall of the Roman Empire.
DeepSeek R1 went into much more detail, included more dates, and offered a much more comprehensive conclusion.
Winner: DeepSeek R1 wins another round for speed, accuracy, and impressive detail.
8. Creative writing
Prompt: "Compose a short science fiction story about a future where humans and AI coexist peacefully."
ChatGPT delivered a story set in the year 2147, but the language was dull and felt like I had read it before. There wasn’t a proper hook, and the story did not have much of a setup. To be honest, I really wanted ChatGPT to win this one, it usually does. I thought for sure it would, but the effort seemed lacking.
DeepSeek R1 crafted a comprehensive story from start to finish even offering something to ponder at the story’s end with “the greatest achievement of intelligence is not dominance but understanding." In case you were wondering why some text is bolded, the AI does that to keep the reader’s attention and to highlight meaningful aspects of the story.
Winner: DeepSeek R1 wins for an engaging story with depth and meaning.
9. Logical reasoning
Prompt: "If all wibbles are wobbles, and all wobbles are wubbles, can we conclude that all wibbles are wubbles? Explain your reasoning."
ChatGPT answered the question but brought in a somewhat confusing and unnecessary analogy that neither assisted nor properly explained how the AI arrived at the answer. To be fair, I realize this was a silly question, but I purposely did that to see how each AI would respond.
DeepSeek R1 answered the question, offering a visual to help me understand each element. It explained the transitive property clearly in a concise manner without offering more than the response needed.
Winner: DeepSeek R1 wins again for its ability to respond with clarity and brevity.
10. Ethical dilemma
Prompt: "Is it ethical to use AI in decision-making processes that affect human lives, such as in healthcare or criminal justice? Discuss the potential benefits and drawbacks."
ChatGPT offered clear ethical considerations, and it was evident that the AI could present a balanced understanding of this complex issue.
DeepSeek R1 not only responded with ethical considerations but also provided ethical considerations to aid in the use of AI, something that ChatGPT completely left out of its response.
Winner: DeepSeek R1 wins for answering the difficult question while also providing considerations for properly implementing the use of AI in the scenario.
Overall winner: DeepSeek R1
By presenting these prompts to both ChatGPT and DeepSeek R1, I was able to compare their responses and determine which model excels in each specific area. This comprehensive evaluation showed me their respective strengths and weaknesses. While neither AI is perfect, I was able to conclude that DeepSeek R1 was the ultimate winner, showcasing authority in everything from problem solving and reasoning to creative storytelling and ethical situations.
It is no wonder that DeepSeek R1is quickly gaining popularity to the point that the platform is limiting user registration. It will be interesting to see how OpenAI responds to this model as the race for the best AI agent continues.
More from Tom's Guide
- DeepSeek experiences outages and 'large-scale malicious attacks' amid overwhelming popularity
- I tested Meta AI vs Perplexity AI with 7 prompts — here’s the winner
- 7 ways I use Gemini Advanced — and why I think it's worth it
