ChatGPT's growth is surging despite the DeepSeek buzz
Despite the emergence of Chinese-owned DeepSeek’s AI platform, U.S.-based OpenAI’s ChatGPT continues its growth. The San Francisco-based tech company reported 400 million weekly active users as of February, up 33% from 300 million in December.
The company’s chief operating officer, Brad Lightcap, told CNBC in an interview yesterday that the growth is behind the “natural progression” of ChatGPT as it becomes more useful and familiar to a broader group of people.
Advantages of ChatGPT Over DeepSeek
Unmesh Kulkarni, Head of Gen AI at data analytics company, Tredence, says that ChatGPT is a superior product over DeepSeek, which is driving growth. Kulkarni mentioned that DeepSeek R1 is an interesting and leading model with reasoning. However, they are not clearly superior to GPT’s or Gemini models across the board in terms of performance, speed, and accuracy.
Robert W. Taylor, counsel with IT law firm Carstens, Allen & Gourley, LLP, also echoes the accuracy concerns about DeepSeek vs. ChatGPT. According to Taylor, there are interesting opinions from people who have been vigorously testing DeepSeek and conclude that it is not quite as good from an accuracy or performance standpoint as some of the leading leaning language models.
Concerns About DeepSeek's Security
The message about DeepSeek’s security concerns may also be resonating with Americans, dampening its appeal. Taylor mentioned that signing up with DeepSeek directly entails terms and conditions and a privacy policy that make it clear that all user data will be sent to China, processed there, stored on servers there, and can be used for various purposes. This has raised concerns among users about data privacy and security.
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