GPT-4 vs. Bing Chat: Key Differences in Capabilities and Output

Table of Contents

• Cost and Usage Limits
• Up-to-Date Knowledge and Search Integration
• Available Input and Response Lengths
• Creative Output vs. Factual Conciseness
• Code Generation and Reasoning Capabilities

Cost and Usage Limits for GPT-4 vs Bing Chat

One of the biggest differences between GPT-4 and Bing Chat is how much they cost and how often you can use them. GPT-4 currently requires a paid subscription through OpenAI's ChatGPT Plus service, which costs $20 per month. This gives you access to the full capabilities of the GPT-4 model. However, there are strict usage limits - you can only generate 25 messages every 3 hours. So you end up paying a monthly fee but still face frustrating constraints on how much you can actually use the AI.

In contrast, Bing Chat is completely free to use. You just need a Microsoft account. Bing Chat allows up to 150 messages per day, which is far more generous than GPT-4's limits. The tradeoff is that Bing Chat has less advanced capabilities than the full GPT-4 model. But for many basic uses, the free and unlimited access makes Bing Chat more practical for everyday users.

Paid Access to GPT-4

The only way to access the complete GPT-4 model is through OpenAI's paid ChatGPT Plus subscription. This costs $20 per month. Under the subscription, you can select the GPT-4 model for your conversations. However, there is a limit of only 25 chat messages every 3 hours. So even as a paying customer, your use of GPT-4 is severely restricted compared to a free service like Bing Chat.

Free Access to Bing Chat

Microsoft offers completely free access to Bing Chat through any Microsoft account. There are no subscription fees. Bing Chat allows up to 150 messages per day, far more than what you get with the paid GPT-4 access. The downside is that Bing Chat has less advanced capabilities, since it's powered by an earlier version of GPT-4. But for basic conversational AI, the free access makes Bing Chat more usable on a daily basis.

Up-to-Date Knowledge and Search Integration

Another major difference between the two AI systems is that Bing Chat has access to up-to-date online information through integration with the Bing search engine, while GPT-4 is limited by its training data cutoff in September 2021. This means Bing Chat can provide timely answers related to current events, while GPT-4 can only offer responses based on its 2021 knowledge base.

For example, when asked about who won the NBA championship in 2022, Bing Chat instantly returned the correct answer that the Golden State Warriors defeated the Boston Celtics in 2022. GPT-4 responded that its knowledge was last updated in September 2021, so it could not provide current information. This limitation makes GPT-4 ineffective for many real-world questions that require knowing the latest facts.

GPT-4's Static Model Limitations

One major limitation of GPT-4 is that it was trained solely on data up until September 2021. This means the model has no knowledge of anything that happened after that date. When asked about current events like who won the 2022 NBA Finals, GPT-4 has to admit its knowledge cutoff and is unable to provide an accurate, up-to-date answer. At best, GPT-4 can offer responses based on the state of the world as it was in September 2021 when its training data ends. But for any question where timely information is needed, the static nature of GPT-4 significantly limits its capabilities.

Bing Chat's Web Search Integration

Unlike GPT-4, Bing Chat is integrated directly with the Bing search engine. When asked about current events, Bing Chat performs a web search and retrieves the most recent information available online. For example, asking about the winner of the 2022 NBA championship results in Bing Chat searching the web and returning the accurate result of the Warriors defeating the Celtics. Thisweb integration allows Bing Chat to provide timely, factual responses by leveraging the most up-to-date information available through Bing. This gives Bing Chat a major advantage over GPT-4's static knowledge when answering questions that require current information.

Available Input and Response Lengths

The two AI systems also differ significantly in how much input they can handle and how long their responses can be. GPT-4 allows mammoth input lengths up to 25,000 words. This enables feeding long passages of text as context. GPT-4 responses can also be very detailed and lengthy when needed.

Meanwhile, Bing Chat has a much smaller input limit of only 2,000 characters (approximately 333 words). The tradeoff is that Bing Chat returns more concise responses oriented around clear answers rather than verbose essays like GPT-4. So GPT-4 handles long inputs better but Bing Chat may be preferable when you just need a quick factual response.

Creative Output vs. Factual Conciseness

When it comes to the actual quality and style of the AI responses, GPT-4 tends to provide substantially more creative, conversational, and detailed responses. This allows for more free-flowing dialog but the answers can sometimes be indirect or speculative.

In contrast, Bing Chat usually gives much more concise and fact-based answers focused directly on the question. The responses pull from web search results and summarized facts rather than GPT-4's more discursive storytelling approach. So GPT-4 excels at imaginative writing while Bing Chat is better for getting straight factual answers.

Code Generation and Reasoning Capabilities

When tested on technical skills like generating code and logical reasoning, GPT-4 demonstrated stronger overall capabilities compared to Bing Chat. Both AIs were able to produce functional Python code for calculating the area of a triangle from its sides. However, GPT-4's code contained additional validation to catch non-triangle inputs, showing greater logical reasoning ability.

The two systems also showed markedly different skills in generating mathematical proofs and computer science jokes. Here GPT-4 achieved noticeably higher performance, with more coherent explanatory reasoning and truly original creative joke outputs. Bing Chat's capabilities remained impressive overall but GPT-4 appears notably stronger at advanced technical tasks demanding logical thinking and creative generation.

Math and Coding Example Comparisons

In side-by-side tests of math proofs and Python coding examples, GPT-4 consistently exhibited stronger reasoning abilities than Bing Chat. When generating triangle area code, GPT-4's version could detect invalid triangle side inputs while Bing Chat's did not account for that possibility. Similarly, GPT-4 provided more detailed explanations when producing mathematical proofs. Generating creative content like original computer science jokes also favored GPT-4's capabilities, with Bing Chat relying more on pre-existing jokes copied from the web. Overall, these examples demonstrated GPT-4's superior performance on tasks requiring complex logical reasoning and creative generation.

FAQ

Q: How much does it cost to use GPT-4 vs. Bing Chat?
A: Accessing full GPT-4 capabilities currently requires a paid ChatGPT Plus subscription from Anthropic costing $20/month. Bing Chat is free to use with a Microsoft account.

Q: Which has more up-to-date knowledge, GPT-4 or Bing Chat?
A: Bing Chat has more up-to-date knowledge since it integrates with Bing search results. GPT-4 is limited by its September 2021 training data cutoff.

Q: What are the input and response length limits?
A: GPT-4 allows up to 25,000 word inputs and lengthy responses. Bing Chat limits inputs to 2,000 characters and gives shorter, more concise responses.

Q: Which is better for creative writing vs. concise Q&A?
A: GPT-4 generates more elaborate creative writing while Bing Chat focuses on accurate, factual answers concisely.