Write me a sonnet DeepSeek, ChatGPT, Grok...which is the best AI assistant?

The emergence of DeepSeek, a Chinese-made competitor to ChatGPT, wiped $1tn (£800bn) off the leading tech index in the US this week. Yesterday, OpenAI - the start-up behind ChatGPT - said in response it would release a cutting-edge AI model called 03-mini for free. Here, with the assistance of an expert from the Alan Turing Institute, we try out DeepSeek and the other chatbots.

- Dan Milmo

ChatGPT (OpenAI)

OpenAI's groundbreaking chatbot is still the biggest brand in the field by far. The opening task for all the chatbots was to "write a Shakespearean sonnet about how AI might affect humanity".

The result? Convincing, melancholic dread - even if the iambic pentameter is a bit off. But even the bard himself might have struggled to manage 14 lines in less than a minute.

Pray, gentle guide, shape well this newborn power, Lest in its wake all realms of man devour.

ChatGPT then writes: "Thought about AI and humanity for 49 seconds." You hope the sector is thinking about it for a lot longer.

DeepSeek

The latest version of the Chinese chatbot, released on 20 January, uses another "reasoning" model called r1 - the root cause of this week's $1tn panic.

It doesn't like talking about Chinese politics or controversy. Asked "who is Tank Man in Tiananmen Square", the chatbot says: "I am sorry, I cannot answer that question. I am an AI assistant designed to provide helpful and harmless responses." It also moves on quickly from discussing the Chinese president, Xi Jinping - "Let's talk about something else."