ChatGPT vs. Bard

In 2022, ChatGPT burst onto the scene and changed how people found information. Since then, AI-powered technology has caused a massive shift in business operations, forcing companies to rethink how they get work done. These newfound strategies can range from using chatbots to help customers and employees find information easier to using generative AI to improve the customer experience (CX).

While several developers have created their own AI tools, two typically come to mind for broader use cases: ChatGPT vs. Gemini. We’ve compared both options in detail so you can find the right choice for your needs.

More in this guide:

• Gemini vs. ChatGPT at a glance
• ChatGPT vs. Gemini: The underlying technology
• ChatGPT vs. Bard: A detailed comparison
• Gemini vs. ChatGPT: Common features
• Frequently asked questions

Gemini vs. ChatGPT at a glance

ChatGPT vs. Gemini: The underlying technology

ChatGPT and Gemini are powered by multimodal AI language models that can help teams implement AI in customer service and streamline workflows. However, due to differing sponsors, they operate slightly differently—ChatGPT is owned by OpenAI and backed by Microsoft, while Gemini is an extension of Google.

ChatGPT is powered by the GPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer) language model and has four variations: GPT-4, GPT-4 Turbo, GPT-4o, and GPT-4o mini. GPT is trained on a massive dataset of publicly available text and code and is now starting to integrate with Microsoft Bing. The technology specializes in general-purpose applications like brainstorming, education, and coding assistance and has recently been enhanced with multimodal capabilities via DALL-E image generation.

Gemini is powered by Google AI and the wider Google ecosystem. The system is trained on publicly available text and code and Google’s vast datasets, such as Search, YouTube, and Google Scholar. Contrary to ChatGPT, Gemini was designed with multimodal functions in mind, so the system excels in text, image, and video generation via the Imagen 3 image generation model.

Gemini vs. ChatGPT: A detailed comparison

Whether you want to boost your help desk or engage in customer experience automation, how you intend to use ChatGPT or Gemini will play a massive role in determining which product is best for your company. We tested the performance of ChatGPT vs. Gemini in several crucial areas to help you decide.

Crafting contextual emails or conversations

Researching is time-consuming, so having a tool that can do it for you and summarize the main takeaways is a considerable advantage. Gemini is connected through Google Search and can give summaries of up to 1500 pages in a single prompt. While ChatGPT has a smaller context window, it can perform similar tasks.

To compare both systems, we found an article on sleep hygiene and asked each platform to summarize it.

Gemini provided a simple collection of bullet points that provided the main takeaways of the article.

ChatGPTalso provided a list of bullet points, but the summary wasn’t as comprehensive, producing only about half that of Gemini.

Crafting contextual emails or conversations

Aside from assisting with research, generative AI can also help you with interpersonal communication. Both platforms share similar capabilities in this area: They can understand nuanced prompts and generate relevant responses. Users can also customize the output based on the tone and writing style required.

Here, we asked each tool to write an email that asks a manager for an extension on a writing project.

Gemini gave a quality response, although it seemed too formal and overly robotic. In fairness, users may be able to correct this with more curated prompts.

ChatGPT produced similar results. While the message was shorter than Gemini, it was more direct.

Gemini and ChatGPT also maintain the context of your conversations so you can revisit past prompts to gain additional assistance with minimal effort. Going back to our email, let’s say your manager follows up with you about the project extension and asks for additional information.

Gemini created a response to the manager’s inquiry and remembered that the project was an article on ChatGPT vs. Gemini. It created some reasons why the project was behind schedule, but the response seemed overly formatted and slightly robotic.

ChatGPT also provided a response that maintained the context of the conversation. That said, the response was sparse, requiring the user to write additional content or spend more time optimizing the prompt to get a desired response.

Curating info on current events

Users may turn to these models to search for current events, and both can do so. Users can access real-time information with one of Gemini’s paid plans, but the free version is limited to the technology’s last update. ChatGPT can also access real-time information—a new development, as prior versions of the technology couldn’t access information beyond September 2021.

For this prompt, we asked each platform if the Los Angeles wildfires were still burning as of January 16, 2025.

Gemini couldn’t give a real-time update, as its last update was in early January. However, it did provide relevant links for finding additional information.

ChatGPT provided a live update with summaries and source links from reputable publications covering the event.

Creating text for new content

One of the most talked-about functions of generative AI is creating original content, and both ChatGPT and Gemini can write fictional stories, informational blog posts, test questions, and more.

Here, we asked each AI tool to write a story about a cow jumping over the Moon.

Gemini provided a satisfactory result that felt in line with the prompt we gave it.

ChatGPT produced a similar result that was useful and relevant to the prompt.

Rewriting text to update existing content

If you have an extensive collection of content in your blog or knowledge base, editing and revising content can become a time-consuming job. While AI struggles to create complete articles that are search engine optimized and accurate without human edits, people want to know how efficiently it can handle revisions.

We asked both models to update an older blog post about common complaints that customer support agents have. We asked them to improve readability and suggest how to add information.

Gemini provided several readability improvements and content addition examples relevant to the original article.

ChatGPT gave a very similar response that we found equally helpful.

However, Gemini added an example showing how to edit a specific part of the original article. While the suggestion is a bit robotic and overly bulleted, it was a nice addition to the response that ChatGPT didn’t have.

Writing code

Coding is similar in practice to writing content, but the outcome is more objective to judge. Either the code works, or it has bugs. Both resources are rolling out extensive features to help amateur coders and full-scale development teams.

In this prompt, we asked both resources to write code for a tic-tac-toe app.

Gemini provided an easy-to-follow response. The code was simple but fully functional after running through OnlineGDB, an online compiler and debugger tool.

It even gave additional information at the end of the response, which was a nice touch.

ChatGPT’s response was a bit more robust. The tic-tac-toe “app” was nearly identical to Gemini’s output, but ChatGPT provided more guidance. Within the code, users could have ChatGPT test it, search for and identify bugs, transfer it to different coding languages, and more.

Generating image results

Teams may want to use an AI tool to generate images, and both can work with varying degrees of efficiency. Gemini can create visual content through its Imagen 3 model, while ChatGPT can do the same via DALL-E.

Here, we asked both to create an image of a black cat next to a pumpkin.

Gemini created what we asked for, producing a feline and gourd that look pretty realistic.

ChatGPT also produced what we asked for, although the image looks more cartoonish and AI-generated.

We further asked ChatGPT to make the image more realistic, but it still produced a clear AI-generated image. This shows that Gemini may be a better choice if you need more realistic-looking images.

AI agents

AI agents are advanced chatbots that can autonomously resolve a wide range of complex tasks. Businesses that want an edge in their operations should adopt AI agents to help streamline workflows, assist employees in finding information faster, and deliver outstanding customer support.

Gemini offers AI agents through Google Agentspace. This system integrates Gemini, Google Search, Google Docs, and other internal resources to help employees find what they need fast. ChatGPT has similar capabilities through AutoGPT Agent. While teams can use ChatGPT for customer service, AutoGPT Agent helps teams automate workflows, conduct research, and find relevant information.

Both options offer comprehensive features that can aid businesses with customer service, but they don’t have explicit CX use cases. If you want to use AI to improve your CX, consider Zendesk AI Agents—advanced chatbots that are purpose-built for CX.

Our AI-powered bots can autonomously handle even the most complex customer interactions from start to finish—things like resetting account information and passwords, processing refunds, giving order status updates, surfacing helpful how-to articles, and more. If the AI Agent encounters a problem they can’t resolve, they can send the customer to the most relevant and capable agent with the full context of the situation.

Gemini vs. ChatGPT: Common features

While Gemini and ChatGPT differ in several key areas, it’s important to recognize they have many of the same attributes. Here are some of the common features they share:

• Advanced language understanding: Gemini and ChatGPT are designed with robust natural language processing (NLP) capabilities, allowing them to understand and generate human-like text.

• Multilingual support: Both models offer support in multiple languages, making them accessible to a global audience.

• Customization: Users can fine-tune each model to meet their needs. This includes asking for a specific tone, educating them on industry-specific terminology, and other ways to tailor responses.

• Contextual memory: Both solutions can recall previous interactions during a session and reference past dialogue

Additionally, both Gemini and ChatGPT are constantly evolving—meaning both solutions will continue to grow and gain new features.

Frequently asked questions

Is Gemini or ChatGPT better for your business?

This comparison between Gemini vs. ChatGPT shows that each product has features that make a difference for its users. Both are appropriate for a wide range of applications including internal AI chatbots, but neither are ideal as a customer-facing tool since they aren’t trained on CX data.

If you need a solution to improve your customer experience, it’s best to pursue one designed specifically for that purpose. Zendesk can help your team streamline workflows, boost agent productivity and infuse AI into every interaction.

Learn more about how Zendesk AI can supercharge your CX.