Since the release of ChatGPT at the end of 2022, several chatbots have been launched. Tech&Co tested the main ones to determine the best in one task: summarizing documents.
Launched in November 2022, ChatGPT shook the world. This chatbot is capable of answering many questions and generating various types of content. Since then, OpenAI, its creator, has improved it, but it is not the only company in this market.
Gemini, Copilot, Claude… several tools have been developed to compete with it. But only a few are able to summarize documents. Between ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot, Gemini, and Le Chat, which are the best known, only the first three allow you to do it for free while you have to pay for the fourth (which however offers a free 2-month trial offer ). Tech&Co tested them to determine the best.
· ChatGPT
ChatGPT has recently been able to summarize documents, thanks to the GPT-4o model unveiled in May. To test this capacity, Tech&Co submitted a 30-page study on the perception of social networks in France.
While the AI was very quick to generate a good summary, it contains some errors and inconsistencies. For starters, ChatGPT claims that “young people (15-24 years old) are the biggest users (46.6%), while usage declines with age.” However, this figure is not mentioned at any time in the study, for which only French people aged at least 18 were interviewed.
He also assures that “6 out of 10 French people believe that the State does not do enough to regulate social networks” while the study speaks of 57%. We are not far from the mark but not necessarily in the precision.
We also regret that the chatbot, which presents its summary in eight parts, repeats a figure from the study in two different parts: “Opinions on social networks” and “Regulation of social networks”. This figure concerns the number of French people who believe that the dangers of social networks are not taken into account enough. It is presented in two different forms even though it would have been better to cite it once in a single section on the opinions of the French on social networks.
· Claudius
Anthropic’s AI provided one of the best summaries, covering almost all the important points of the study coherently and without errors. She begins by mentioning the generally negative perception of social networks in France and ends with the call for stronger regulation on the part of public authorities, while mentioning the platforms perceived as positive or negative by the French or the fact that 50 % would prefer to live in a world where these do not exist.
We nevertheless regret that Claude repeats himself in his summary, mentioning twice that the French are demanding stronger regulation of social networks.
· Copilot
For Copilot to generate a summary of a document, it is necessary to use the Microsoft Edge browser. You must then open the document in question in the browser so that the Microsoft chatbot summarizes it.
Unfortunately, with the free version, the summary obtained from the study was not of good quality. Short compared to the other two AIs, it is presented in four points, the first of which is dedicated to Destin Commun, the think tank behind the survey. Although he specifies that “the French have a predominantly negative view of social networks”, the other important points of the study are not addressed.
Copilot only mentions that the French prefer the original model of social networks and calls for stricter regulation.
· Gemini
Importing documents to obtain a summary is new to Gemini. Google rolled it out on May 14, during its annual developers conference. The company’s AI is the only one to have addressed all the important points of the study, including the fact that the French are worried about the impact of social networks on democracy.
An important point, especially given the monthly price to take advantage of this capacity. Gemini also ends its summary in style by evoking the “striking contrast” of the study, namely the fact that one in two French people would prefer to live in a world without social networks, compared to only one in four in a world without smartphones.
Conclusion
The best AI for summarizing documents seems to be Gemini. However, we regret that it is necessary to pay to access this functionality for Google’s AI. The paid plan, Gemini Advanced, which includes several exclusive features, costs 21.99 euros per month. If ChatGPT and Claude did rather well, their errors and inconsistencies remind us that it is necessary to verify the content generated by AIs, because they can produce false information.
