DeepSeek AI Surges in Popularity, Challenging ChatGPT's Dominance

DeepSeek AI begins to steal customers away from ChatGPT

Chinese start-up DeepSeek has caused the AI market to flip after its new chatbot, which is comparable to OpenAI's latest AI model, was made available for much cheaper. The AI market is still reeling from the unveiling of DeepSeek, with the announcement dramatically affecting the stock value of AI companies, including NVIDIA, which lost an estimated $600 billion, and OpenAI, which has accused DeepSeek of using its database. Moreover, the US government has launched a probe into DeepSeek to see if the company circumvented US trade restrictions on high-end NVIDIA AI GPUs by using Singapore as a middleman. It's safe to say the AI market is in turmoil right now since the new player entered the field, and now we are starting to see its effects in terms of users. According to data from Semrush, ChatGPT's daily visits in the US have reduced significantly since the unveiling of DeepSeek, with the popular chatbot dropping from 22.1 million users in October 2024 to 14.9 million by January 2025. By comparison, DeepSeek had just 2,300 visits in October 2024 but sharply grew to 71,200 by January 19. As for globally, DeepSeek traffic has surpassed 7,120,000 million users and has ascended to the top of the charts for most downloaded apps across 140 countries.

DeepSeek Sees Huge Surge to Become Second Most Popular AI Chatbot

A wave of global internet traffic has made China's DeepSeek the second most popular AI chatbot on the internet, surpassing Google's Gemini. Web-based traffic to DeepSeek.com reached a record high of 49 million visits last Tuesday, a 614% increase from the week before, according to Similarweb, which monitors internet traffic. Although the numbers don't account for app-based traffic, they demonstrate DeepSeek's huge gains. A month ago, it was getting about 300,000 visits per day before shooting up to 33.4 million on Jan. 27, causing US tech stocks to plummet. The surge in interest also means DeepSeek is beating Google's Gemini and Character.AI, which receive about 10 million and 6 million visits per day, respectively. However, DeepSeek still remains far behind OpenAI's ChatGPT; in recent weeks, the chatgpt.com domain has sometimes been attracting 130 million to 140 million visits per day. Similarweb also notes that DeepSeek's traffic falls behind Microsoft's Bing.com, which has been incorporating the OpenAI-powered Copilot AI into the online search. Users have been visiting DeepSeek.com after the Chinese startup grabbed headlines for releasing an open-source AI model, V3, that allegedly only took $5.5 million to train -- a drastic cost decrease from the billions it's taken to develop US AI models. In addition, V3 has similar capabilities to ChatGPT but can be freely downloaded and run on a local server, opening the door for other companies to adopt it easily. The latest numbers from Similarweb show that global traffic to DeepSeek.com settled at 29.2 million visits last Friday. "In the US, DeepSeek hit a peak of 4.9M daily visits on January 28," the company told PCMag. "Most recently, DeepSeek had 2.4M daily visits in the US on January 31, an 813.3% WoW increase." So, it's possible the traffic may fall over time as competition in the AI chatbot space continues to intensify. On Monday, OpenAI introduced a new AI capability called "Deep Research," which can create comprehensive research reports on a topic by synthesizing data from hundreds of online sources. The other issue is that DeepSeek is facing more scrutiny over its privacy and censorship policies, which could cause some users to switch to other alternatives. The surge in traffic to DeepSeek.com also occurred as the site faced a DDoS attack on Monday, which caused the Chinese company to briefly restrict some new user sign-ups.

DeepSeek reaches No. 1 on US Play Store | TechCrunch

Chinese AI lab DeepSeek's Android app has taken the No. 1 spot on the Google Play Store, mere days after the company's chatbot app clinched the top spot on the Apple App Store. According to app analytics firm AppFigures, since its launch in mid-January, the DeepSeek app has been downloaded over 1.2 million times on the Play Store and over 1.9 million times on the App Store across the world. Notably, the actual number of installs could be higher as DeepSeek has a label indicating over 5 million downloads on the Play Store. The rapid rise of DeepSeek in the charts follows a sudden rise in popularity resulting from the release of a series of open-source AI models that are competitive with leading offerings by AI companies in the West, like Anthropic, OpenAI, Meta and Google. However, the Chinese company claims its AI models were trained for just a fraction of the price as the ones from the likes of OpenAI and Meta, and using significantly worse AI chips. DeepSeek's app is essentially a ChatGPT alternative that's powered by the Chinese lab's V3 model. You can use the bot to analyze files, answer questions, and get information from the web. The app is free and lets you upload files and sync your chat history across devices While DeepSeek is ruling the charts for now, it will have to get to 300 million weekly users to overtake OpenAI's ChatGPT for a long-term lead in chatbots.

DeepSeek is taking over the AI world -- live updates

There's a new AI game in town called DeepSeek. Owned a by the Chinese stock trading firm High-Flyer, it has risen in popularity at an alarming rate, putting other AI chatbots like Google Gemini and ChatGPT on notice. DeepSeek's AI reportedly required far less raw computing power to get started than rivals from larger tech firms. In fact, the company said it only needed about $6 million in computing power to train its new system, approximately 10 times less than what Meta spent training its AI model. The DeepSeek is currently No. 1 in the Apple App Store and shows no signs of slowing down -- beyond outages due to demand. What does this mean for you and what are the latest developments around DeepSeek? Should we be worried about it being banned, similar to what happened to Chinese-owned TikTok? We'll investigate all that and more in our live coverage on DeepSeek.

DeepSeek AI: What you need to know about the ChatGPT rival

Last Monday, Chinese AI company DeepSeek released an open-source LLM called DeepSeek R1, becoming the buzziest AI chatbot since ChatGPT. It's purportedly just as good -- if not better -- than OpenAI's models, cheaper to use, and allegedly developed with way fewer chips than its competitors. Here's what you need to know about DeepSeek R1 and why everyone is suddenly talking about it. With the release of DeepSeek R1, the company published a report on its capabilities, including performance on industry-standard benchmarks. DeepSeek claims its LLM beat OpenAI's reasoning model o1 on advanced math and coding tests (AIME 2024, MATH-500, SWE-bench Verified) and earned just below o1 on another programming benchmark (Codeforces), graduate-level science (GPQA Diamond), and general knowledge (MMLU). Mashable's Stan Schroeder put DeepSeek R1 to the test by asking it to "code a fairly complex web app which needed to parse publicly available data, and create a dynamic website with travel and weather information for tourists," and came away impressed with its capabilities. At this point, several LLMs exist that perform comparably to OpenAI's models, like Anthropic Claude, Meta's open-source Llama models, and Google Gemini. But DeepSeek R1's performance, combined with other factors, makes it such a strong contender. Because DeepSeek R1 is open source, anyone can access and tweak it for their own purposes. It also allows programmers to look under the hood and see how it works. Open-source models are considered critical for scaling AI use and democratizing AI capabilities since programmers can build off them instead of requiring millions of dollars worth of computing power to build their own. Meta took this approach by releasing Llama as open source, compared to Google and OpenAI, which are criticized by open-source advocates as gatekeeping. Google's Gemini model is closed source, but it does have an open-source model family called Gemma. DeepSeek R1 has a free web app version, accessible via chat.deepseek.com, and an API that costs significantly less than OpenAI's API access to its most advanced model. Its reasoning model costs $0.14 for one million cached input tokens, compared to $7.50 per one million cached input tokens for OpenAI's o1 model. That's an absolute steal that unsurprisingly has programmers flocking to it. For AI industry insiders and tech investors, DeepSeek R1's most significant accomplishment is how little computing power was (allegedly) required to build it. According to DeepSeek engineers via The New York Times, the R1 model required only 2,000 Nvidia chips. That's compared to a reported 10,000 Nvidia GPUs required for OpenAI's models as of 2023, so it's undoubtedly more now. That's quite a bold claim, but if true, it calls into question how much investment is needed to develop data centers like the $500 billion Stargate project currently underway. The stock market certainly noticed DeepSeek R1's alleged cost efficiency, with Nvidia taking a 13 percent dip in stock price on Monday. Clearly, users have noticed DeepSeek R1's prowess. By Monday, the new kid on the block topped the Apple App Store as the number one free app, replacing ChatGPT as the reigning free app. Who knows if DeepSeek R1's momentum will continue, but it has definitely reignited the AI race and taken the competition to global heights.

Here's what DeepSeek AI does better than OpenAI's ChatGPT

A recently released AI model called DeepSeek from a China-based startup is currently wreaking havoc on the tech space in the U.S. Why? Because it's blowing all other Big Tech models out of the water. And, to top it off, it's allegedly doing so with less funding and less technological resources. Here's what the AI industry says about DeepSeek compared to OpenAI's leading chatbot, ChatGPT. Now, regarding AI outputs, everyone might have a different opinion based on their specific use case. So, there are still areas where other AI models might beat DeepSeek's outputs. For example, some users discovered that certain answers on DeepSeek's hosted chatbot are censored due to the Chinese government. That is true. But, here's a fact: DeepSeek is open in a way that OpenAI said ChatGPT would be - and never delivered. In fact, as OpenAI sheds its original "open" ethos, DeepSeek went ahead and released its model as open-source. Anyone can download the DeepSeek R1 model for free and run it locally on their own device. This means your data won't be shared in any way with DeepSeek. In addition, as even DeepSeek pointed out, users can get around any censorship or skewed results. While OpenAI's training for each model appears to be in multiples of tens of millions of dollars, DeepSeek claims it pulled off training its model for just over $5.5 million. And that price difference also appears to be passed on to the consumer. API access for DeepSeek-RI starts at $0.14 for one million tokens or roughly 750,000 words. DeepSeek's latest model is reportedly closest to OpenAI's o1 model, priced at $7.50 per one million tokens. That's a pretty big disparity in pricing. ChatGPT and DeepSeek users agree that OpenAI's chatbot still excels in more conversational or creative output as well as information relating to news and current events. However, the consensus is that DeepSeek is superior to ChatGPT for more technical tasks. If you use AI chatbots for logical reasoning, coding, or mathematical equations, you might want to try DeepSeek because you might find its outputs better. For most queries, though, it appears DeepSeek and ChatGPT are on par, roughly giving the same output. Even being on equal footing is bad news for OpenAI and ChatGPT because DeepSeek is entirely free for most use cases. Regular ChatGPT users may have to subscribe to its paid tier at $20 a month. For companies utilizing AI-model API access, the price difference between two largely equivalent models may be too much for them not to switch from OpenAI's ChatGPT to DeepSeek.

DeepSeek AI: How to try DeepSeek R1 right now

Try out the new chatbot shaking up AI's biggest players. Credit: Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg via Getty Images A new super-powered, open-source AI model called DeepSeek R1 is rattling the industry this week, after it was unexpectedly dropped into the laps of artificial intelligence experts -- and the world -- with seemingly valid challenges to OpenAI's expensive AI model. Released by Chinese AI startup DeepSeek, the DeepSeek R1 advanced reasoning model purports to outperform the most popular large language models (LLMs), including OpenAI's o1. According to the company, DeepSeek R1 bested these black box offerings in several important benchmarks, and has a particular talent at mathematical, coding, and reasoning tasks, Mashable's Stan Schroeder reports. Schroeder's own tests have shown that it holds its own against rival ChatGPT in complex coding tasks. "In the background of all this are training costs which are orders of magnitude lower than for some competing models, as well as chips which aren't as powerful as the chips that are on disposal for U.S. AI companies," wrote Schroeder. "DeepSeek thus shows that extremely clever AI with reasoning ability doesn't have to be extremely expensive to train -- or to use." For curious minds and those looking for open source alternatives to the industry's current major players: DeepSeek's chatbot offering is free to use on the web and now available for download on the Apple App Store. In order to use the new, "highly-intelligent" DeepSeek-V3 model, users will need to create an account or log-in with their Google information. The model's API is also available for extremely low cost -- just $0.14 for one million input tokens, compared to OpenAI's $7.5 rate for o1. In addition to the full size (32-billion-parameter) RI model, DeepSeek offers smaller, distilled models ranging from 1.5 billion parameters to 70 billion, reports the Register. Create an account on DeepSeek's API platform to get started.

Hands On With DeepSeek's R1 Chatbot

The DeepSeek AI chatbot, released by a Chinese startup, has temporarily dethroned OpenAI's ChatGPT from the top spot of Apple's US App Store. The app is completely free to use, and DeepSeek's R1 model is powerful enough to be comparable to OpenAI's o1 "reasoning" model, except DeepSeek's chatbot is not sequestered behind a $20-a-month paywall like OpenAI's is. Also, the DeepSeek model was efficiently trained using less powerful AI chips, making it a benchmark of innovative engineering. I've tested new generative AI tools over the past couple of years, so I was curious to see how DeepSeek compares to the ChatGPT app already on my smartphone. After a few hours spent testing, my initial impressions are that DeepSeek's R1 model will continue to be a major disruptor for US-based AI companies, but it still suffers from the weaknesses common to other generative AI tools, like rampant hallucinations, invasive moderation, and questionably scraped material. Users interested in trying out DeepSeek can access the R1 model through the Chinese startup's smartphone apps (Android, Apple) as well as on the company's desktop website. You can also use the model through third-party services, like Perplexity Pro. In the app or on the website, click on the DeepThink (R1) button to use the best model. Developers who want to experiment with the API can check out that platform online. It's also possible to download a DeepSeek model to run locally on your computer. In order to use all the consumer features, you will need to create a user account that tracks your chats. "We store the information we collect in secure servers located in the People's Republic of China," reads the company's privacy policy. Check out this article from WIRED's Security desk for a more detailed breakdown about what DeepSeek does with the data it collects. It's worth keeping in mind that, just like ChatGPT and other American chatbots, you should always avoid sharing highly personal details or sensitive information during your interactions with a generative AI tool. Yes and no! If you're looking for a free chatbot to use, ChatGPT already includes plenty of free features. So does Anthropic's Claude, Google's Gemini, and Meta's AI tool. So, why is the fact that DeepSeek is free notable? It's about the raw power of the model that's generating these free-for-now answers. As previously mentioned, DeepSeek's R1 mimics OpenAI's latest o1 model, without the $20-a-month subscription fee for the basic version and $200-a-month for the most capable model. This comes as a major blow to OpenAI's attempt to monetize ChatGPT through subscriptions. Another similar feature to ChatGPT available in DeepSeek is the option to send the chatbot out into the web to gather links that inform its answers. While DeepSeek does not have deals with publishers to use their content in answers -- like OpenAI does with publishers, including WIRED's parent company Conde Nast -- the web search outputs were decent and the links gathered by the bot were generally helpful. Still, the current DeepSeek app does not have all the tools longtime ChatGPT users may be accustomed to, like the memory feature that recalls details from past conversations so you're not always repeating yourself. DeepSeek also doesn't have anything close to ChatGPT's Advanced Voice Mode, which lets you have voice conversations with the chatbot, though the startup is working on more multimodal capabilities. Though it may almost seem unfair to knock the DeepSeek chatbot for issues common across AI startups, it's worth dwelling on how a breakthrough in model training efficiency does not even come close to solving the roadblock of hallucinations, where a chatbot just makes things up in its responses to prompts. Many of the outputs I generated included blatant falsehoods, confidently spewed out. For example, when I asked R1 what the model already knew about me without searching the web, the bot was convinced I'm a longtime tech reporter at The Verge. No shade, but not true!

Chinese AI chatbot DeepSeek becomes most downloaded app in Vietnam - VnExpress International

By Tuesday noon "DeepSeek - AI Assistant" had risen to the top of the most downloaded free apps on Apple's app store and ranked among the top five in the Productivity category on Google Play. Many Vietnamese users left positive reviews for the app, comparing it to products from OpenAI and Google. A user named Thanh commented: "I think this is the best free AI app I have ever seen. It is intelligent, responds quickly, and its quality is nearly the same as ChatGPT Pro while being free." DeepSeek quickly gained global popularity after being released on app stores two weeks ago. It is the top free app on the Apple store in at least 52 countries and territories as of Tuesday morning and ranks among the top 10 in 111 other markets, according to mobile app analytics firm Appfigures. It had accumulated 2.6 million downloads across platforms by Monday. Analytics firm Sensor Tower reported that more than 80% of downloads on mobile devices were done in the last seven days. China accounted for 23% of the downloads, and the U.S. for 15%. Tech news site TechCrunch said of the app: "While hundreds of millions of people use ChatGPT and Gemini each month, DeepSeek proves that there is still room in the consumer AI space and that new competitors should not be overlooked." DeepSeek was founded in 2023 by Liang Wenfeng, co-founder of the AI-focused investment fund High-Flyer. Development of the chatbot started in April 2023 with the goal of achieving artificial general intelligence, a target also pursued by OpenAI and similar companies. DeepSeek started gaining attention last week with the release of R1, a model with reasoning capabilities that competes with OpenAI's Q* (o1). What sets this Chinese app apart is its open-source approach, allowing other AI developers to use and contribute to it. Additionally, DeepSeek was developed with modest resources due to China's restrictions on chip imports. It is estimated to have been trained at a cost of $5.6 million, a fraction of the budgets used by OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and Meta for their models.

How to join DeepSeek -- get started with ChatGPT's rival

DeepSeek has emerged as a significant player in the world of AI chatbots, almost overnight -- making waves powerful enough to impact US tech stocks with its impressive performance. This Chinese AI startup has quickly risen to the top free app on Apple's App Store in the US and UK, particularly gaining traction during recent ChatGPT outages. As users look for AI beyond the established players, DeepSeek's capabilities have drawn attention from both casual users and AI enthusiasts alike. DeepSeek offers browser and app-based access, giving users flexibility in how they can use the AI assistant. Whether you're exploring alternatives to ChatGPT or simply want to test this increasingly popular platform, getting started with DeepSeek is really straightforward. DeepSeek is a new AI model gaining recognition for its powerful natural language processing capabilities. Developed by a Chinese startup, it has demonstrated performance levels that rival established platforms like ChatGPT. From today, it's capabilities also extend to image generation, positioning itself as a competitor to Midjourney and Open AI's DALL-E, establishing that it aims to challenge all the key players. Without further adieu, let's explore how to join and start using DeepSeek. Now you've learned how to join DeepSeek, why not check out our other AI articles. Explore I tested ChatGPT vs DeepSeek with 7 prompts -- here's the surprising winner, I write for a living -- and this AI transcription software is a true game changer, and 7 ways I use Gemini Advanced -- and why I think it's worth it.

DeepSeek R1: A guide to using the Chinese ChatGPT rival on PC and Mobile

DeepSeek, an AI model developed by a Chinese startup, delivers performance comparable to ChatGPT while providing cost-effective solutions and free access to advanced features.The emergence of DeepSeek R1, a Chinese rival to ChatGPT, has caused ripples in the AI community. Currently holding the position of the most downloaded app on the App Store, DeepSeek R1 combines innovation with accessibility, presenting itself as a potential game-changer in AI technology. Here's a detailed guide on how to use DeepSeek R1 on PCs and mobile devices, as mentioned in a report by ReadWrite and NewsBytes. Know all about its unique features, and whether it comes free of charge. DeepSeek R1 is an open-source AI model that is gaining traction as a credible competitor to ChatGPT. Designed for seamless interaction, the platform delivers a familiar interface for users acquainted with AI chatbots. The tool also provides an advanced feature that allows tech-savvy users to run the model locally on their hardware using Ollama, ensuring privacy and reducing dependency on cloud-based services. For PC users, DeepSeek R1 functions similarly to ChatGPT and can be accessed through a web browser. The setup process is straightforward: DeepSeek R1 is entirely open-source, ensuring transparency in its functionality. While concerns about Chinese-origin apps persist, DeepSeek R1 has been praised for its simplicity and robust design. DeepSeek R1 is available on mobile platforms, making it accessible to users on the go. The app can be downloaded from app stores and is currently topping download charts globally. With its popularity skyrocketing, DeepSeek R1 is being recognized as a mobile-friendly alternative to other AI models like ChatGPT. For users who prefer running AI models locally to maintain privacy, DeepSeek R1 can be integrated with Ollama, a tool for hosting large language models on personal hardware. System Requirements: Steps to Install and Run: This setup ensures data privacy by keeping all interactions within your local hardware, as per the report by ReadWrite. While the app itself is free to download, additional features and localized setups may require higher-end hardware or subscription-based services for extended functionality. For basic use, however, DeepSeek R1 remains accessible to all users without any fees. DeepSeek is particularly valuable for developers and students working on technical projects, whereas ChatGPT continues to be the preferred choice for everyday users seeking natural, conversational interactions. The company was established in 2023 by Liang Wenfeng in Hangzhou, a city in southeastern China. The 40-year-old, an information and electronic engineering graduate, is also the founder of the hedge fund that financed DeepSeek.

DeepSeek is the new AI chatbot that has the world talking - I pitted it against ChatGPT to see which is best

DeepSeek is the new AI chatbot on everybody's lips and is currently sitting at the top of Apple's App Store in the US and the UK. A completely free AI model built by a Chinese start-up, DeepSeek wants to make AI even more accessible to the masses by offering a competitor to OpenAI's ChatGPT o1 reasoning model without a fee. New AI apps appear on the App Store almost daily, and there's often hype around a new model launch as people look for the next alternative to ChatGPT. Whether you're an avid user of OpenAI's software or you prefer to use Google Gemini, there's an AI tool for everyone, and DeepSeek wants to be the next icon on your home screen. After seeing DeepSeek all over my newsfeed, I knew I had to give the brand-new AI a go and see if it was as good as people who made it out to be online. I pitted DeepSeek V3 and DeepThink R1 against ChatGPT 4o and o1 to see just how good the new king of the App Store really is. In this test, I wanted to get a full feel for everything DeepThink offers compared to ChatGPT, so I only thought it was fair to use the AI chatbot the same way I would use AI in my daily life. Recently, I've been wanting to get help from AI to create a daily schedule that fits my needs as a person who works from home and needs to look after a dog. Up until recently, my partner also worked from home, so it was much easier to split tasks, but she is now working from an office, and I need to find a way to juggle life, work, and my French Bulldog Kermit. I asked ChatGPT o4 and DeepSeek V3 to create a daily schedule with some information on when I wake up, my dog's potty routine, and a brief breakdown of my workflow. Both created excellent schedules that I could genuinely see myself using daily. However, ChatGPT's memory feature made OpenAI's schedule even more coherent. I had previously told ChatGPT that I like to review AI news and trends at 9 am, and 4o implemented that information from a previous chat into my morning routine. DeepSeek, on the other hand, can only remember information from the same chat and couldn't bring back information from previous chats to help with its answer. Next, I wanted to ask both AI chatbots about the NFL Playoffs, considering we now know the two teams that will face each other at Super Bowl LIX. I asked DeepSeek and ChatGPT to give me a 200-word rundown of the NFL playoffs and how it works. Both provided excellent information that gave me a full understanding of how the seeding system works and the journey a team needs to take to make it to the Super Bowl. ChatGPT opted for a 200-word paragraph, while DeepSeek broke information down into bullet points. I did notice that ChatGPT gave me more context on how teams become a Wild Card, but the difference between the results is fairly minimal and you'll like one better than the other purely based on personal preference. Now that we've covered some simple AI prompts, it's time to get down to the nitty gritty and try out DeepThink R1, the AI model that has everyone talking. People online are saying DeepSeek's free reasoning model is as good as ChatGPT's o1, which is free in small doses but requires a paid subscription to access regularly. To test the AI chatbots' reasoning capabilities, I looked for some of the hardest problems I could find, and I'm shocked by some of the results: So, I've run multiple prompts and used both chatbots for an extensive amount of time, but what is the better option? According to the answers I received from prompts, DeepThink R1 is an excellent free reasoning model that makes you question whether it's worth paying to access o1 regularly. DeepSeek is only available on the web, iOS App Store, and Play Store, so if you want to use a standalone Mac app or iPad app, you'll need to wait for the company to release one. According to Humanity's Last Exam, DeepThink R1 outperforms ChatGPT o1 with a 9.4% accuracy rate compared to OpenAI's 9.1%; it's a marginal difference, but considering one is completely free, it may sway you towards using the new kid on the block. Personally, I'll be sticking with ChatGPT because I don't have enormous requirements for reasoning models, and I rely heavily on the memories feature, which allows the AI chatbot to reference previous conversations. I also like the fact that ChatGPT has a standalone Mac and iPad app, as well as the ability to generate images with one of the best AI image generators, DALL-E. DeepSeek is purely text-based and lacks multi-modal capabilities, but considering how new it is, this is an incredibly promising start to a genuine challenger for OpenAI's AI crown.

What is DeepSeek? Everything you need to know about the new ChatGPT rival that's taken the App Store by storm

Despite being in development for a few years, DeepSeek seems to have arrived almost overnight after the release of its R1 model on Jan 20 took the AI world by storm, mainly because it offers performance that competes with ChatGPT-o1 without charging you to use it. Its app is currently number one on the iPhone's App Store as a result of its instant popularity. DeepSeek is a Chinese-owned AI startup and has developed its latest LLMs (called DeepSeek-V3 and DeepSeek-R1) to be on a par with rivals ChatGPT-4o and ChatGPT-o1 while costing a fraction of the price for its API connections. And because of the way it works, DeepSeek uses far less computing power to process queries. Some security experts have expressed concern about data privacy when using DeepSeek since it is a Chinese company. Obviously, given the recent legal controversy surrounding TikTok, there are concerns that any data it captures could fall into the hands of the Chinese state. DeepSeek is the name of the Chinese startup that created the DeepSeek-V3 and DeepSeek-R1 LLMs, which was founded in May 2023 by Liang Wenfeng, an influential figure in the hedge fund and AI industries. The first DeepSeek product was DeepSeek Coder, released in November 2023. DeepSeek-V2 followed in May 2024 with an aggressively-cheap pricing plan that caused disruption in the Chinese AI market, forcing rivals to lower their prices. The company's current LLM models are DeepSeek-V3 and DeepSeek-R1. Both have impressive benchmarks compared to their rivals but use significantly fewer resources because of the way the LLMs have been created. DeepSeek-V3 is a general-purpose model, while DeepSeek-R1 focuses on reasoning tasks. DeepSeek has been able to develop LLMs rapidly by using an innovative training process that relies on trial and error to self-improve. So, in essence, DeepSeek's LLM models learn in a way that's similar to human learning, by receiving feedback based on their actions. They also utilize a MoE (Mixture-of-Experts) architecture, so they activate only a small fraction of their parameters at a given time, which significantly reduces the computational cost and makes them more efficient. To use DeepSeek as a chatbot you can simply head over to DeepSeek.com and click on Start Now. You'll need to create an account to use it, but you can login with your Google account if you like. Alternatively, you can download the DeepSeek app for iOS or Android, and use the chatbot on your smartphone. You don't need to subscribe to DeepSeek because, in its chatbot form at least, it's free to use. The DeepSeek chatbot defaults to using the DeepSeek-V3 model, but you can switch to its R1 model at any time, by simply clicking, or tapping, the 'DeepThink (R1)' button beneath the prompt bar. If you want to use DeepSeek more professionally and use the APIs to connect to DeepSeek for tasks like coding in the background then there is a charge. Currently, it is just $0.55 per mission input tokens and $2.19 per million output tokens. This compares very favorably to OpenAI's API, which costs $15 and $60. While its LLM may be super-powered, DeepSeek appears to be pretty basic in comparison to its rivals when it comes to features. In terms of chatting to the chatbot, it's exactly the same as using ChatGPT - you simply type something into the prompt bar, like "Tell me about the Stoics" and you'll get an answer, which you can then expand with follow-up prompts, like "Explain that to me like I'm a 6-year old". The answers you'll get from the two chatbots are very similar. What you'll notice most is that DeepSeek is limited by not containing all the extras you get withChatGPT. For instance, you'll notice that you can't generate AI images or video using DeepSeek and you don't get any of the tools that ChatGPT offers, like Canvas or the ability to interact with customized GPTs like "Insta Guru" and "DesignerGPT". If you are a ChatGPT Plus subscriber then there are a variety of LLMs you can choose when using ChatGPT. In DeepSeek you just have two - DeepSeek-V3 is the default and if you want to use its advanced reasoning model you have to tap or click the 'DeepThink (R1)' button before entering your prompt. There are also fewer options in the settings to customize in DeepSeek, so it is not as easy to fine-tune your responses. In short, DeepSeek feels very much like ChatGPT without all the bells and whistles. One of the best features of ChatGPT is its ChatGPT search feature, which was recently made available to everybody in the free tier to use. This allows you to search the web using its conversational approach. DeepSeek also features a Search feature that works in exactly the same way as ChatGPT's. Finally, you can upload images in DeepSeek, but only to extract text from them. ChatGPT on the other hand is multi-modal, so it can upload an image and answer any questions about it you may have. AI search is one of the coolest uses of an AI chatbot we've seen so far. It enables you to search the web using the same sort of conversational prompts that you normally engage a chatbot with. Just like ChatGPT, DeepSeek has a search feature built right into its chatbot. Just tap the Search button (or click it if you are using the web version) and then whatever prompt you type in becomes a web search. It couldn't get any easier to use than that, really. Once you've performed your search, say for Pizza restaurants in your city, you can ask follow-up questions, like "From those, if you had to choose one restaurant, which one would it be?" DeepSeek will respond to your question by recommending a single restaurant, and state its reasons. It's this ability to follow up the initial search with more questions, as if were a real conversation, that makes AI searching tools particularly useful. Both ChatGPT and DeepSeek enable you to click to view the source of a particular recommendation, however, ChatGPT does a better job of organizing all its sources to make them easier to reference, and when you click on one it opens the Citations sidebar for easy access. In contrast, DeepSeek is a bit more basic in the way it delivers search results. DeepSeek-R1 is an advanced reasoning model, which is on a par with the ChatGPT-o1 model. These models are better at math questions and questions that require deeper thought, so they usually take longer to answer, however they will present their reasoning in a more accessible fashion. To use R1 in the DeepSeek chatbot you simply press (or tap if you are on mobile) the 'DeepThink(R1)' button before entering your prompt. The button is on the prompt bar, next to the Search button, and is highlighted when selected. When you ask your question you'll notice that it will be slower answering than normal, you'll also notice that it appears as if DeepSeek is having a conversation with itself before it delivers its answer. That is so you can see the reasoning process that it went through to deliver it. It's quite fascinating! One thing to bear in mind before dropping ChatGPT for DeepSeek is that you won't have the ability to upload images for analysis, generate images or use some of the breakout tools like Canvas that set ChatGPT apart. If all you want to do is ask questions of an AI chatbot, generate code or extract text from images, then you'll find that currently DeepSeek would seem to satisfy all your needs without charging you anything. We also found that we got the occasional "high demand" message from DeepSeek that resulted in our query failing. However, DeepSeek is currently completely free to use as a chatbot on mobile and on the web, and that's a great advantage for it to have.

AI Battle begins: DeepSeek vs ChatGPT; find out who wins?

Chatbots of both DeepSeek R1 and ChatGPT have limitations but at the same time R1 is more affordable and is also made in a cost-effective way.The battle among AI chatbots has begun as Chinese AI startup DeepSeek introduces its latest AI chatbot DeepSeek R1. Find out who wins the race. Both these chatbots are AI systems that use Large Language Models (LLMs). LLMs are trained to understand and generate human-like text. They help to provide assistance in writing, research, coding, or even brainstorming ideas. The AI chatbots offer a free tier that lets users ask questions, solve problems, and get general information. For those who want more features, both also offer paid subscriptions. ChatGPT starts at $20/month, while DeepSeek is much more affordable, starting at just $0.50/month. Also Read : Chinese New Year 2025: Date, significance, animal of the year In addition to being budget-friendly for users, DeepSeek-R1 is also cost-effective to run. It's reported to be around 27 times cheaper per token compared to OpenAI's o1, making it a more economical choice for businesses and developers. When it comes to AI chatbots, both DeepSeek and ChatGPT have made impressive strides in the field, but each has its own strengths and limitations. DeepSeek stands out for its exceptional ability to generate code, particularly in languages like Python and Java, making it a go-to tool for developers. It also excels at solving complex equations, which positions it as a powerful asset for technical tasks. However, its reliance on censorship protocols, which are influenced by the Chinese government, can create difficulties when dealing with politically sensitive topics. This limitation can sometimes restrict its ability to navigate certain conversations. On the other hand, ChatGPT shines in areas like storytelling, humour, and marketing copy. It's known for creating engaging and creative content, often pulling off jokes and narratives with ease. ChatGPT is more up-to-date on global events, and provides quicker responses when asked about recent news. But it does have some limitations. While it's capable of delivering accurate responses, it sometimes struggles with providing contextually appropriate answers and dealing with inherent biases from its training data. Also Read : Apple celebrates the Month of Black History with the unique Unity Collection and Grants Both chatbots offer unique features tailored to different needs. Q1. What is the Large Language Model? A1. Large Language Model is a machine-learning language that is trained to understand and generate human-like text. Q2. What is the cost of a premium subscription for both the chatbots? A2. The premium subscription of ChatGPT starts at $20/month. DeepSeek is much more affordable, starting at just $0.50/month.

I tested ChatGPT vs DeepSeek with 7 prompts -- here's the surprising winner

DeepSeek, a Chinese AI startup founded in 2023, has gained significant popularity, currently 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.