Introduction-to-LLM-and-RAG

Session 2: Working with Large Language Models

Part 3: The Top 10 ChatGPT Alternatives to ChatGPT

In this section, you can find the curated list of the top 10 ChatGPT alternatives. Each AI tool is accompanied by a brief description and its pros and cons. At the end of this section, you can find a summary table.

Microsoft Copilot

Microsoft has transformed Bing AI into Copilot, a comprehensive AI assistant embedded within its ecosystem. Copilot is now available across Microsoft 365 apps such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Teams. It is powered by GPT-4 and designed to enhance productivity by handling complex tasks like data analysis, content creation, and project management.

Copilot ensures precise and contextualized responses while securely leveraging organizational data in enterprise settings. While its full functionality is tied to Microsoft 365 subscriptions, it represents a significant leap in productivity tools.

Pros:

Deep integration with Microsoft tools.
Advanced multimodal capabilities.
Tailored for both personal and professional use.

Cons:

Requires a Microsoft 365 subscription for full access.
Dependence on internal data may raise privacy concerns.

Google Gemini

Google has introduced Gemini, its next-generation AI model family, which represents a significant upgrade over Bard. Gemini offers state-of-the-art generative capabilities, combining text, images, and multimodal interactions. Powered by Google’s advanced PaLM architecture, Gemini is tailored for both creative and analytical tasks, excelling in reasoning, coding, and multilingual applications.

With Gemini, Google has integrated its AI more deeply into its ecosystem, including tools like Google Lens and Google Workspace apps. Future versions aim to unlock even more potential, including the ability to handle dynamic multimodal prompts seamlessly.

Pros:

Advanced generative capabilities and multimodal interactions.
Tight integration with Google’s ecosystem.
Free version available with robust features.

Cons:

Limited customization options for enterprise use.

Claude

Developed by Anthropic, Claude is an AI assistant designed with safety and reliability in mind, thanks to its Constitutional AI framework. Two main versions are available: Claude 2, a powerful model capable of handling complex tasks, and Claude Instant, a faster and more cost-effective option for everyday use.

Claude is particularly strong in creative content generation, instruction-following, and summarization tasks. Additionally, it offers an API for developers to build customized applications. While its accessibility is still limited, tools like Poe, Vercel AI Playground, and Slack allow users to explore Claude’s capabilities for free.

Pros:

Strong focus on safety, reliability, and ethical AI.
Two versions tailored for different needs (speed vs. power).
Available on multiple platforms for free trials.

Cons:

Limited user base for API access.
Still in early stages compared to more mature competitors.

Perplexity AI

Perplexity AI is a user-friendly alternative to ChatGPT, designed for simplicity and accuracy. Powered by OpenAI’s API, its interface is minimalist, and the free version is accessible without requiring account creation.

Key features include threads, which let users revisit past conversations, and search focus, allowing for refined, source-specific searches. Perplexity also addresses issues of authenticity and copyright by providing cited sources for all its answers. The Pro version, powered by GPT-4, includes a Copilot feature that guides searches interactively.

Pros:

Intuitive, minimalist interface.
Free to use, with no account required for basic access.
Cited sources for transparency.

Cons:

Limited advanced features in the free version.
Pro version requires subscription for GPT-4 access.

Mistral AI

Mistral AI is a French artificial intelligence company specializing in open-weight large language models (LLMs). Founded in April 2023 by former engineers from Google DeepMind and Meta Platforms, Mistral AI has rapidly emerged as a significant player in the AI landscape.

In January 2025, Mistral AI released Codestral 25.01, the latest version of its code generation model. Codestral 25.01 is designed for low-latency, high-frequency tasks such as fill-in-the-middle (FIM), code correction, and test generation. This model sets a new benchmark in the field of code generation, offering developers enhanced speed and capability.

Additionally, in January 2025, Mistral AI entered into a multi-year partnership with Agence France-Presse (AFP). This collaboration allows Mistral’s conversational assistant to utilize AFP’s news dispatches, enriching the quality and reliability of its responses.

Pros:

Open-weight models promote transparency and community development.
Strategic partnerships enhance data quality and model performance.

Cons:

Limited integration with mainstream productivity tools.

Deepseek Ai

DeepSeek AI is a Chinese artificial intelligence company founded in 2023, dedicated to advancing artificial general intelligence (AGI). Backed by the Chinese hedge fund High-Flyer, DeepSeek has rapidly emerged as a significant player in the AI landscape.

In December 2024, DeepSeek released DeepSeek-V3, a state-of-the-art large language model (LLM) featuring a Mixture-of-Experts (MoE) architecture with 671 billion total parameters, of which 37 billion are activated per token. Trained on 14.8 trillion tokens, DeepSeek-V3 demonstrates exceptional performance across various benchmarks, including mathematics, coding, and multilingual tasks.

Pros:

Open-Source Commitment: DeepSeek’s models are fully open-source, promoting transparency and community-driven development.
Cost-Effective Training: The development of DeepSeek-V3 was achieved with significantly lower computational resources compared to its peers, highlighting efficient optimization strategies.
Competitive Performance: DeepSeek-V3 rivals leading models like GPT-4o and Claude 3.5 Sonnet, establishing itself as a formidable contender in the AI field.

Cons:

Resource Constraints: Despite innovative approaches, DeepSeek faces challenges due to limited access to cutting-edge hardware, impacting its competitive edge.
Developing Ecosystem: As a relatively new company, DeepSeek’s ecosystem is still evolving compared to more established AI firms.

DeepSeek’s rapid advancements underscore China’s growing capabilities in AI development, even amidst global challenges.

Here’s a detailed section on GitHub Copilot:

GitHub Copilot

GitHub Copilot is an AI-powered coding assistant developed by GitHub in collaboration with OpenAI. It leverages the power of OpenAI’s Codex model to provide real-time code suggestions, improve productivity, and help developers write better code faster. Integrated directly into popular development environments like Visual Studio Code, JetBrains IDEs, and GitHub Codespaces, GitHub Copilot is designed to assist with code completion, syntax suggestions, and even generating entire functions or classes.

Latest Updates (2025):

Copilot X: GitHub introduced Copilot X, which includes enhanced conversational capabilities, integrated pull request automation, and advanced code analysis features. Copilot X is powered by GPT-4 and offers context-aware chat directly within the IDE.
Natural Language Commands: Developers can now use natural language to interact with Copilot, asking it to explain code, refactor snippets, or generate boilerplate code.
Security Features: Copilot now integrates with GitHub’s security tools, offering suggestions to mitigate vulnerabilities during coding, ensuring more secure software development practices.

Pros:

Time Efficiency: Automates repetitive tasks and speeds up development workflows.
Context Awareness: Adapts suggestions based on the context of the project and codebase.
Seamless Integration: Works within widely used IDEs for a smooth developer experience.
Continuous Learning: Improves with user feedback and adapts to coding styles.

Cons:

Cost: Requires a subscription, with free options limited to students or certain open-source contributors.
Dependency Risk: Over-reliance may reduce the development of foundational coding skills.
Data Privacy: Concerns over sharing private code snippets, though GitHub ensures privacy measures for enterprise users.

GitHub Copilot is particularly valuable for beginners learning to code, experienced developers seeking productivity boosts, and teams aiming for consistency in codebases. With the recent introduction of Copilot X, it has cemented its place as a leading tool in the AI-assisted development landscape.

Cursor AI

Cursor AI is an AI-powered code editor designed to enhance developer productivity by integrating advanced artificial intelligence features directly into the coding environment. As a fork of Visual Studio Code, it retains a familiar interface while introducing innovative tools to streamline the coding process.

Key Features:

AI-Powered Autocomplete: Cursor AI predicts and suggests multi-line code completions, allowing developers to write code more efficiently. This feature adapts to recent changes, providing context-aware suggestions.
Smart Rewrites: The editor can automatically correct syntax errors and improve code quality by suggesting optimal code structures, reducing the likelihood of bugs.
Integrated Chat Functionality: Cursor AI includes a chat feature that allows developers to interact with an AI assistant capable of understanding the current codebase. This assistant can answer questions, explain code segments, and provide guidance on potential issues.
Composer and Notepads: The Composer feature automates code modifications across the entire codebase, while Notepads (formerly known as Projects) help organize and reference files efficiently, enhancing project management within the editor.

Recent Updates:

As of December 2024, Cursor AI introduced several significant enhancements:

Agent Improvements: The AI agent now has the capability to run terminal commands in the background, read linter errors to automatically fix issues, and auto-save changes to disk. These improvements contribute to a more autonomous and efficient coding assistant.
Yolo Mode: This feature enables the agent to auto-run terminal commands, streamlining the development process by reducing manual interventions.
Enhanced Composer UI: The Composer user interface has been updated to provide inline diffs and better UX for reviewing changes, facilitating a more intuitive code editing experience.

Pros:

Enhanced Productivity: By automating repetitive tasks and providing intelligent code suggestions, Cursor AI allows developers to focus on complex problem-solving.
Seamless Integration: Being a fork of Visual Studio Code, it supports existing extensions, themes, and keybindings, ensuring a smooth transition for users.
Privacy Options: Cursor AI offers a Privacy Mode where your code is never stored remotely, and it is SOC 2 certified, ensuring data security.

Cons:

Learning Curve: New users may require time to fully utilize the advanced AI features effectively.
Resource Intensive: The integration of AI functionalities may demand higher system resources, potentially affecting performance on lower-end machines.

Cursor AI represents a significant advancement in AI-assisted coding tools, offering a blend of intelligent features designed to streamline the development workflow and enhance code quality.

GitHub Copilot

GitHub Copilot est un assistant de codage alimenté par l’IA, développé par GitHub en collaboration avec OpenAI. Il s’appuie sur la puissance du modèle Codex d’OpenAI pour fournir des suggestions de code en temps réel, améliorer la productivité et aider les développeurs à écrire un code de meilleure qualité plus rapidement. Intégré directement dans les environnements de développement populaires comme Visual Studio Code, JetBrains IDEs et GitHub Codespaces, GitHub Copilot est conçu pour aider à l’autocomplétion, aux suggestions de syntaxe et même à la génération de fonctions ou de classes entières.

Dernières mises à jour (2025) :

Copilot X : GitHub a introduit Copilot X, incluant des capacités conversationnelles avancées, l’automatisation des pull requests et des fonctionnalités d’analyse de code. Alimenté par GPT-4, Copilot X offre un chat contextuel directement dans l’IDE.
Commandes en langage naturel : Les développeurs peuvent interagir avec Copilot en langage naturel pour demander des explications sur le code, effectuer des refactorisations ou générer des modèles de base.
Fonctionnalités de sécurité : Copilot s’intègre désormais aux outils de sécurité de GitHub, proposant des suggestions pour atténuer les vulnérabilités pendant le développement, favorisant ainsi des pratiques de codage plus sécurisées.

Avantages :

Gain de temps : Automatise les tâches répétitives et accélère les flux de travail de développement.
Conscience contextuelle : Adapte les suggestions en fonction du contexte du projet et de la base de code.
Intégration fluide : Fonctionne dans des IDE largement utilisés, offrant une expérience utilisateur sans friction.
Amélioration continue : S’adapte aux styles de codage et s’améliore grâce aux retours des utilisateurs.

Inconvénients :

Coût : Nécessite un abonnement, avec des options gratuites limitées aux étudiants ou à certains contributeurs open source.
Dépendance : Une surutilisation pourrait réduire le développement des compétences fondamentales en codage.
Confidentialité des données : Préoccupations concernant le partage de fragments de code privé, bien que GitHub assure des mesures de confidentialité pour les utilisateurs professionnels.

GitHub Copilot est particulièrement utile pour les débutants en apprentissage, les développeurs expérimentés cherchant à booster leur productivité et les équipes visant une cohérence dans leurs bases de code. Avec l’introduction récente de Copilot X, il s’impose comme un outil de premier plan dans le paysage du développement assisté par IA.

Cursor AI

Cursor AI est un éditeur de code alimenté par l’IA, conçu pour améliorer la productivité des développeurs en intégrant des fonctionnalités avancées directement dans l’environnement de codage. Basé sur un fork de Visual Studio Code, il conserve une interface familière tout en introduisant des outils innovants pour simplifier le processus de développement.

Fonctionnalités clés :

Autocomplétion alimentée par l’IA : Cursor AI prédit et suggère des complétions de code sur plusieurs lignes, permettant aux développeurs d’écrire du code plus efficacement. Cette fonctionnalité s’adapte aux changements récents pour des suggestions contextuelles.
Réécritures intelligentes : L’éditeur corrige automatiquement les erreurs de syntaxe et améliore la qualité du code en suggérant des structures optimales, réduisant ainsi les risques de bogues.
Chat intégré : Cursor AI inclut une fonctionnalité de chat permettant aux développeurs d’interagir avec un assistant IA capable de comprendre la base de code actuelle. Cet assistant peut répondre aux questions, expliquer des segments de code et fournir des conseils sur des problèmes potentiels.
Composer et Notepads : La fonction Composer automatise les modifications de code à l’échelle de la base de code, tandis que les Notepads (anciennement appelés Projets) aident à organiser et référencer les fichiers efficacement, améliorant la gestion des projets dans l’éditeur.

Mises à jour récentes :
En décembre 2024, Cursor AI a introduit plusieurs améliorations significatives :

Améliorations de l’agent : L’agent IA peut désormais exécuter des commandes terminales en arrière-plan, lire les erreurs de linter pour corriger automatiquement les problèmes et enregistrer les modifications sur le disque.
Mode Yolo : Cette fonctionnalité permet à l’agent d’exécuter automatiquement des commandes terminales, simplifiant le processus de développement en réduisant les interventions manuelles.
Interface utilisateur améliorée pour Composer : L’interface de Composer propose désormais des diff en ligne et une meilleure expérience utilisateur pour réviser les modifications, offrant une édition de code plus intuitive.

Avantages :

Productivité accrue : En automatisant les tâches répétitives et en fournissant des suggestions de code intelligentes, Cursor AI permet aux développeurs de se concentrer sur des problèmes complexes.
Intégration fluide : En tant que fork de Visual Studio Code, il prend en charge les extensions, thèmes et raccourcis existants, assurant une transition facile pour les utilisateurs.
Options de confidentialité : Cursor AI propose un mode de confidentialité où le code n’est jamais stocké à distance et est certifié SOC 2, garantissant la sécurité des données.

Inconvénients :

Courbe d’apprentissage : Les nouveaux utilisateurs peuvent nécessiter du temps pour exploiter pleinement les fonctionnalités avancées de l’IA.
Exigences système : L’intégration des fonctionnalités IA peut nécessiter des ressources système élevées, ce qui peut affecter les performances sur des machines moins puissantes.

Cursor AI représente une avancée majeure dans les outils de codage assistés par IA, offrant un mélange de fonctionnalités intelligentes conçues pour rationaliser les flux de travail de développement et améliorer la qualité du code.