Who Is Our Best Friend? Gemini or ChatGPT?

Have you ever wondered who in this day and age doesn't know about Artificial Intelligence (AI)? If you own a smartphone or frequently use a computer, AI must already be a part of your daily life. In fact, I'd bet that even some people in rural areas might have heard about AI. Initially, I even thought, "Could they be using AI to monitor dollar exchange rates?" Haha, forget it. I know villagers wouldn't transact in the market using dollars—like one of our national leaders once mentioned in their speech.

Then I started asking myself, if not for dollars, what's the high probability they're using AI to help with productivity while farming or raising livestock? Who knows, technology can reach that far now.

But don't worry, hello, I'm Celine! I'm not discussing that here. There's something I find much more interesting, closer, and very personal: Between Gemini and ChatGPT, which one is more user-friendly for visually impaired friends?

To answer this, I'm not alone. I'll be sharing it with Riyan, my good friend who recently experienced permanent blindness. Coincidentally, he just sent a long message about his experiences interacting with both of these AIs.

Just a moment, let me open his message first. Oh, where was that chat? I just read it, I think. Ah, here it is! Okay, I'll read out Riyan's analysis points.

First, Who Comes to Mind First? Riyan says, when we're discussing AI, what name first pops into your head? ChatGPT, right? Of course. ChatGPT was like a big explosion at the end of 2022 that broke down doors and introduced AI-powered chatbots to the general public. They successfully built top-of-mind awareness. Just like Indonesians are accustomed to calling all bottled mineral water "Aqua" or toothpaste "Odol", ChatGPT is now synonymous with the word AI itself.

Meanwhile, Gemini, previously known as Bard, is a product released by Google as a rapid adaptation—or perhaps panic—seeing that dominance. So, in the question "who stuck in memory first?", ChatGPT is clearly the winner. It's the pioneer that shaped user habits, set the standard for how a chatbot should respond, and because it came earlier, it's the current master of public perception.

Second, When It Comes to Sophistication, Who Wins? Of course, the answer can be very subjective, depending on who is using it and for what needs. However, objectively, Riyan believes ChatGPT feels more mature and sophisticated compared to Gemini, especially in matters of language logic and programming. What's the reason?

One of the biggest factors is that OpenAI concentrates all its energy, funds, and research solely on refining this AI model. This sharp focus makes the OpenAI ecosystem very strong. They sell this smart "engine" to many startup companies via APIs (Application Programming Interfaces). So, it's no surprise that many office productivity tools, learning applications, content creator support features, and even exciting fictional character chatbots like Character.ai, all run using OpenAI's 'brain'. ChatGPT feels like a professor dedicated to one field of science, mastering it to its roots.

On the other hand, Google is a giant with many hands. They have to divide their focus and resources to develop YouTube, Play Store, Android, Google Maps, and the Chrome search engine. But wait, that's precisely where Gemini's formidable power lies. Never underestimate a product connected to an ecosystem as vast as Google's!

Gemini isn't just trained for conversation; it's projected as an all-in-one assistant directly integrated into our digital lives. Gemini boasts highly ambitious cross-media (multimodal) features. Within a single platform, you can ask this AI to summarize emails in Gmail, condense documents in Google Docs, create images, and even generate videos and music, as it's powered by Google's own advanced engines, Veo and Lyria. With one product, you get keys to many rooms at once. Furthermore, Gemini is reportedly set to release a voice generator feature soon, claimed to be as natural as ElevenLabs, which will undoubtedly be a strong challenger to ChatGPT's Advanced Voice Mode. Their competition truly benefits users.

Third, Which is More Accessible for the Visually Impaired? Now, this is the most crucial and meaningful part for Riyan. As someone who relies on hearing and screen reader technology like TalkBack on Android or VoiceOver on iOS, the application interface is everything. A sophisticated application becomes useless for the visually impaired if its buttons lack labels that can be read by the system. The answer? Both are highly accessible and disability-friendly.

Both ChatGPT and Gemini feature a very minimalist, clean, and functional user interface (UI). There aren't many scattered pop-up menus, intrusive ads, or unnecessary visual animations that often confuse screen reader cursors. For users without sight, these applications feel like a tidy room. Riyan can easily swipe across his phone screen, and the screen reader will immediately vocalize important areas: from the text edit box for typing prompts, clearly labeled send buttons, to the neat and easily navigable structure of the AI's response text. Everything is efficient and simple.

Furthermore, the sophistication of both now extends beyond mere text. Both Gemini and ChatGPT possess a Vision feature that is truly revolutionary for visually impaired individuals. Riyan often photographs an object or a scene around him, uploads it into the chat, and asks the AI to describe the image in detail. "Please explain everything in this photo, and read the text on the packaging," Riyan typed. Within seconds, the AI acts like 'eyes' narrating the world to Riyan with incredibly rich descriptions. This seamless interaction, free from accessibility traps, is what makes both worthy of the title of true companions for the visually impaired in this digital age.

Fourth, Which is More Budget-Friendly? The next equally important—and perhaps most realistic—question is about price. Well, when it comes to the wallet, Riyan has a special note. According to him, to fully enjoy the mid-range or Pro versions for a month, both of these AIs are still considered very expensive for the average Indonesian. The price is set at 300 thousand rupiahs and above (around 20 dollars).

Why does it feel expensive? Of course, this is influenced by differing purchasing power and economic conditions in our country. For citizens in developed countries, spending 20 dollars a month might be like buying a few cups of coffee—considered cheap and affordable. But for us, that's a considerable amount to think about carefully.

The good news is that recently, they've started releasing more budget-friendly 'economical' subscription options, namely ChatGPT Go and Gemini Plus. For around 80 thousand rupiahs per month, we can already subscribe. However, as it's an economical version, you get what you pay for. The features we can access are quite drastically cut compared to using the full Pro version.

At the other end of the spectrum—for those whose budgets might be limitless—there's the highest subscription tier, namely Gemini Ultra and ChatGPT Pro variants. The price? Fantastic, of course, exceeding 100 dollars or over 1 million rupiahs per month! But Riyan quickly added that for most users, we absolutely don't need to subscribe to such expensive packages for daily activities. Both of those heavy-duty packages are specifically designed for businesses, corporations, or those processing massive data. Using mid-range variants like ChatGPT Plus or Gemini Pro is actually more than sufficient for our daily needs.

Let's dissect a brief comparison of these two mid-range subscription options. Riyan gives a big thumbs up to ChatGPT Plus. This subscription option feels satisfying because all of OpenAI's latest models are fully accessible. However, there's one noticeable drawback that's quite frustrating: the very limited "deep thinking" or reasoning feature. ChatGPT only provides a very stingy quota, about 10 times per month for this super complex thinking mode.

This is in stark contrast to the mid-range Gemini Pro subscription option. Google seems to provide more breathing room. With Gemini, access to the deep thinking feature isn't capped by a rigid and small numerical quota; instead, it's dynamically adjusted based on the availability of tokens you possess. As long as your token capacity remains, Gemini is ready to engage in complex thinking freely, without worrying about suddenly running out of allowance midway.

Fifth, Which is More Versatile for the Visually Impaired? We've arrived at the fifth question: Which is more versatile? The answer, with all the freedom of imagination it offers, is Gemini.

For a visually impaired person, limited sight is absolutely no barrier to having visual imagination or boundless creativity. Unfortunately, avenues for expressing these are often limited. This is where Gemini appears like a magic wand. Through Gemini, visually impaired friends can 'paint' images, produce videos, and even compose musical melodies with great freedom. Simply by typing out descriptions from their minds, Gemini will visualize them. Beyond art, Gemini is also highly reliable as a work partner. From drafting reports, writing lines of code, to structuring chapter after chapter for a novel, Gemini is ready to help execute everything.

But don't be too quick to abandon ChatGPT! ChatGPT is also no less interesting and has its own magical charm. Although not as multimodal as Gemini, ChatGPT is a highly reliable powerhouse. It can solve and generate very complex program code.

One thing that gave Riyan goosebumps (in a good way) was when he tried its live voice chat feature (Advanced Voice Mode). Imagine, you're talking to an AI, but the intonation, pauses for breath, laughter, and even emotions in its voice feel incredibly human and natural. Riyan recounted that when he first activated the live feature, he was stunned. He genuinely thought there was a real human sitting behind the screen responding to him. Such a lively and emotional interaction provides a unique sense of warmth for those whose daily lives heavily rely on touch and hearing.

Sixth, So Who Did Riyan Ultimately Choose? We've reached the final question. But oh, as I was about to type this, I felt a bit shy for some reason. Inhale, exhale... why do guys sometimes make you nervous? Finally, I mustered the courage to ask, "Riyan, darling, out of all that sophistication, which one would you choose as your new companion? Gemini or ChatGPT?"

It turns out, without hesitation, his choice fell on Gemini.

His reasons are very practical and closely tied to its digital ecosystem. Gemini has incredibly helpful integration features, one of which is a remarkably large free Google Drive Cloud storage of up to 5 Terabytes (depending on the subscription plan). For Riyan, the feature that allows us to save chat results or written drafts directly to Google Docs or Drive without the hassle of 'Copy' then 'Paste' is extremely efficient. Moreover, Gemini can be directly instructed to summarize long YouTube videos, or find song recommendations on YouTube Music and play them instantly. Everything is seamlessly connected!

Then, Riyan revealed a little secret that might be very valuable for visually impaired friends with financial limitations. It turns out that Gemini Pro's premium features can be accessed very cheaply, almost for free! The trick is to utilize the Gemini Student (or Workspace for Education) subscription package. With this student package, you can enjoy full features for Rp0.

The requirement is simply to prepare a document proving you're an active student or university student. What if you don't have one? Well, Riyan whispered, "There are plenty of people on marketplaces selling accounts or student verification services." On average, it only costs tens of thousands of rupiah for full access. What's even better is that in some Google family package schemes, you can even invite 5 other friends to join and enjoy the subscription. So, both economically and functionally, Gemini truly stands as a real helper for visually impaired friends.

Oh, wait... My phone screen lit up again. Riyan just sent one more message.

I read it slowly: "But Celine, if a miracle ever happens and I can see the world again... I would choose ChatGPT to be my companion. Because after all, it was the first one I ever used, and there are too many memories with it."

Reading that closing message, I could only offer a faint smile, my chest feeling a little tight. So touching, it turns out, is the relationship between a human and technology.

One thing is for sure, from my conversation with Riyan today, I have only one hope: May the future development of AI accelerate even faster. Not just to be a smart conversational virtual assistant, but truly to realize the miracle of becoming actual 'eyes' for visually impaired friends wherever they may be.