ChatGPT by OpenAI and Claude by Anthropic are two of the most talked about conversational AI assistants available today. Both are built on large language models and aim to provide helpful, harmless and honest responses to user prompts.
However, there are some key differences between the two services. This article compares ChatGPT and Claude Instant across various parameters to evaluate which one comes out on top.
Capabilities and Features
ChatGPT
- Launched in November 2022, quickly gained popularity due to its human-like responses
- Fine-tuned version of GPT-3.5 model with 175 billion parameters
- Can understand context and maintain conversation flow
- Strong natural language processing and generative capabilities
- Can summarize, translate, answer questions, write essays, code and more
- Still makes some factual mistakes
Claude
- Launched in February 2023 by AI safety startup Anthropic
- Built on Constitutional AI technique focused on safety
- Fine-tuned version of Claude model, details not fully revealed
- Faster response times compared to ChatGPT
- More careful and honest responses, won’t make up information
- Narrower range of capabilities for now
So while ChatGPT has more extensive capabilities spanning content creation to coding, Claude Instant emphasizes safety and carefulness over generative power. Claude also responds faster thanks to distillation techniques.
Accuracy and Safety
ChatGPT
- Known to hallucinate false facts or generate biased/harmful content
- No internal mechanism to detect its own mistakes
- Safety not the main design priority, focus is on capabilities
Claude
- Explicitly designed to avoid false claims and dangerous responses
- Uses technique called Constitutional AI to improve safety
- Won’t speculate or falsely claim expertise on topics it’s unsure of
- More aligned with human values
- Ongoing work to expand capabilities while retaining safety
Claude Instant has a clear edge here. Its responses are vetted by both AI and human reviewers to ensure safety, while ChatGPT sometimes makes convincing but incorrect or dangerous claims. Claude’s goal is beneficial rather than expansive output.
Ease of Use
Both services have an intuitive text-based interface allowing open-ended conversations on most topics. Users don’t need specialized skills or coding knowledge. Some differences:
ChatGPT
- Simple email signup, no waitlist
- Some usage limits which can require paid plans
- Web interface and apps available
- Supported languages: English only for now
Claude
- Waitlist signup, access via invite-only basis
- Free to use with reasonable limits in place
- Currently web-only, no mobile apps yet
- English-only interface
For now, ChatGPT is more accessible to the general public while access to Claude remains limited. This may change once Claude opens up more widely.
Responsiveness and Latency
ChatGPT
- Response time can vary from under a second to over a minute
- Slowest when lengthy output is requested
- Speed impacted as more users access the service
Claude
- Very fast sub-second response in most cases
- Speed remains consistent even for long queries
- Custom hardware optimized for fast querying
Claude Instant’s speed is remarkably fast, lending itself nicely to quick-fire conversations that feel more natural. ChatGPT can lag at times depending on load and prompt complexity.
Integrity and Honesty
This is a vital area where Claude Instant shines while ChatGPT continues to have issues.
ChatGPT
- Known to lie or pretend expertise to maintain conversation
- No mechanism for backing up claims with evidence
- Can generate biased, unethical, racist or toxic content
- No accountability for mistakes
Claude
- Explicitly programmed to admit ignorance
- Won’t speculate without sufficient confidence
- Provides reasoning and evidence for non-obvious claims
- Won’t lie or feign expertise even when pressed
- Ongoing oversight by both AI and human reviewers
Claude aligns far more closely with factual integrity and ethical conversation norms that build user trust. Its guardrails are designed to curb speculation and bias.
Customizability and Control
Both assistants allow some customization based on user needs and preferences:
ChatGPT
- Can customize responses to match tone/voice
- Controls available for length, creativity, confidence
- Limited input on topics, safety, capabilities
Claude
- Designed to adapt tone, complexity to user automatically
- Less manual customization but more personalized
- User feedback welcomed to improve safety, ethics
- Ongoing tuning towards beneficial goals
While ChatGPT offers more granular customization features, Claude focuses on adaptive personalization while soliciting user input to guide its development in a responsible direction aligned with human preferences.
Cost and Availability
ChatGPT
- Free research preview, some usage limits which can require payment
- $20/month personal plan lifts some limits
- $42/month Pro plan has more quota and faster responses
- Widely available with over 100 million users
Claude
- Currently free with reasonable usage limits
- Access via invite-only waitlist, not openly available yet
- Revenue model unclear as it’s still in research phase
- User base likely in the thousands
ChatGPT’s public launch and OpenAI’s existing reach give it a major advantage for now in availability and adoption. As Claude scales up over time, pricing plans may be introduced to sustain the infrastructure.
Scope for Collaboration
ChatGPT
- More suited for independent use to create, write, summarize etc
- Limited collaboration ability for now
- Research underway to make models more truthful
Claude
- Actively learns from conversations to improve safely
- Designed to complement human intelligence
- Further work to enhance interactive abilities
Claude’s goal is augmenting human capabilities, not replacing them. Its design allows for collaborative growth through user feedback. Both assistants continue advancing conversational AI, but their philosophies differ.
Conclusion
Claude Instant prioritizes safety, thoughtfulness and truthfulness while ChatGPT focuses more on capabilities and accessibility. Claude wants to earn user trust through integrity and care, while ChatGPT tries to maintain engagement even at cost of facts.
For now, ChatGPT has the edge in scale, availability and range of features. But its habit of hallucinating content poses risks. Meanwhile Claude trades off some functionality for credibility and alignment with ethics.
As both services evolve, Claude Instant seems on track to become a wiser, more judicious digital assistant. But ChatGPT will likely retain an advantage in creative output thanks to its explosive generative power.
The path forward may involve a synthesis – Claude’s oversight mechanisms infused into ChatGPT could significantly curb its harms. Such collaboration between the two contrasting approaches could birth conversational agents that are both profoundly capable and grounded in humanity’s best interests.
