Google Gemini has what it takes to be a powerful contender for the best AI chatbot. Although I have already discussed the differences between Gemini and ChatGPT in detail, I thought it would be worth testing the free version of Gemini and its paid version Gemini Advanced. Is it worth paying $20 a month for “Google’s best AI”? Here’s what I found out.
Coding
One of the first things I did with Gemini was to test its encoding capabilities. Please note that I am not an expert coder. However, I have found that using tools like Gemini and ChatGPT can be useful if you want to learn a bit about coding and create some code to play with. And since I’ve always seen a lot about developers using AI chatbots to augment productivity, I thought I’d give it a try.
The prompt I created was basic. I asked both Gemini and Gemini Advanced to “facilitate me create word processing code that can only hide the last four lines of text,” essentially a petite focus typing application. Here’s how he reacted:
Source: Joshua Hawkins / Google
As you can see, it started with how I would code for this using HTML, JavaScript, and CSS styling. Throughout, he explained why he created the code and even provided an effortless way to copy it.
The free model returned this with the same statement:
Source: Joshua Hawkins / Google
It was essentially a non-launch due to censorship settings implemented by Google for the free version of Gemini. Not a great start, but okay; developers will certainly find a lot of utilize in the $20 monthly plan needed for Gemini Advanced. Of course, what I’m asking Gemini to do is a huge task – building a text editor is no effortless feat. But he provided some practical solutions that helped get started, and when I took the code he provided and ported it to a working system, I was able to actually create a text input field, hide all but the last four lines of text, and even add a toggleable shadowy mode option and a number words.
But how do Gemini fare in other areas?
Text generation
The next test I put Gemini through was text generation. I asked both Gemini and Gemini Advanced to generate text for the following prompt:
“Write a low product description for my fresh smartwatch that has a five-day battery life and is waterproof.”
This is what Gemini Advanced returned:
Source: Joshua Hawkins / Google
Here’s what the free version generated:
Source: Joshua Hawkins / Gemini
As you can see, both options approach the prompt slightly differently. Gemini Advanced opted for a sentence-based design, while the free version had several different sections, along with a few bullet points. Both versions began to include information that I didn’t provide, such as the watch’s compatibility with smartphones, as well as information about its design and interface.
I then asked Gemini for facilitate in creating an email announcing the assistant manager job opportunity.
Here is the answer from Gemini Advanced:
Source: Joshua Hawkins / Google
Here is the response from Gemini:
Source: Joshua Hawkins / Google
As you can see, Gemini Advanced has generated a template for me that I can utilize without having to provide it with crucial information that the regular Gemini version required. While providing more information can be crucial and will usually provide a better answer to your questions, it is also crucial to keep your private information to yourself as Google reviews everything Gemini generates and tells you to facilitate further train the model. Therefore, being able to obtain a template without providing a lot of additional information is key to increasing the usability of your chatbot.
Please note that I’m using the simplest possible prompts here because I want to mimic how a regular user would utilize Gemini. Although many people have become experts in creating tips for these chatbots, most people don’t know all the secrets, so they prefer simpler things, which can be troublesome for the chatbot.
Of course, getting more artistic with Gemini is another option, but I didn’t see much of a difference in creativity between Gemini and Gemini Advanced. They both gave solid answers to the prompts I entered; I recommend playing around with the free version of Gemini and seeing if it meets your needs before you spend any money on Gemini Advanced.
Image generation
There wasn’t really much difference between the two as they utilize the same behind-the-scenes model to generate the images. However, I did notice that Gemini Advanced generated images slightly faster, although this may have simply been because it only created three images while the free version of Gemini generated four.
Here are the images created using Gemini Advanced:
Source: Joshua Hawkins / Google
Here’s what Gemini delivered:
Source: Joshua Hawkins / Google
Ultimately, generating images with Gemini will be a mixed bag, whether you utilize the free or paid version of the AI model. As such, I recommend checking out some of the best AI image generators if you want to generate images a lot.
Accessories
Another crucial thing to remember when looking at Gemini and Gemini Advanced is that purchasing a subscription to Gemini Advanced also gives you access to many other add-ons such as Gemini in email, Google Docs, Google Sheets and so on ON.
These options are not available for free, and while I can’t say that most people will need them, you can utilize them if you think you’ll find them useful. Ultimately, though, I don’t think they should play a huge role in determining whether it’s worth paying for the Gemini or not.
The most crucial thing
Ultimately, Gemini Advanced offers some very distinct improvements over the free version. However, if you utilize it occasionally, it probably won’t be worth investing $20 a month for access to Gemini Advanced. If you think you’ll need facilitate with coding as well as the various additional features available in Gemini Advanced, I suggest checking it out for a month and seeing how it works.
During my testing, I also found that using Gemini with Google results really works best, although the free version definitely seems a bit more censored than Gemini Advanced. Some suggestions often return “search Google” recommendations to find the answer, while advanced provides more information. However, I found that Gemini still has some concerns about the way it sources things, so be careful if you plan on using it.
The good news, at least for most users, is that purchasing the Gemini Advanced requires purchasing the 2TB storage plan for Google One, so you’ll also get a nice boost to your online cloud storage. Additionally, Google’s AI chatbot model will get better over time. This means that while the differences may not seem that gigantic right now, they’re likely to widen in the future as Google builds out its AI chatbot and works to make Gemini Advanced feel like a premium product.
This is also an issue that existed in ChatGPT Plus before the subscription service started offering more features and functionality, so it’s not that surprising to see a minimal difference in Gemini, which Google says is comparable to GPT-4, the latest and greatest from OpenAI .
