AI Showdown: What's the Best Tool for Market Research - ChatGPT vs Bard

Which platform is better at conducting market research, Open AI’s ChatGPT or Google’s Bard? I put that question to the test using a real-life market research project for a hotel investment decision.

How the Review Was Conducted

The review process involved a step-by-step comparison of ChatGPT and Bard across various stages of market research. Each platform was given identical prompts and information. The platforms were assessed on their ability to process the same set of data and instructions, ensuring a fair and unbiased comparison.

To start, I provided both ChatGPT and Bard with the same set of instructions I've refined for such analyses. In ChatGPT this meant inputting a set of custom instructions I created to do this kind of research. Google is working on a feature call “Memory,” which will be similar to ChatGPT’s custom instructions. For now, each conversation with Bard starts with a clean slate, so I had to input my instructions into the Bard conversation directly to ensure a level playing field.

Document Analysis: A Challenge for Bard

A key part of my research involved analyzing existing documents. ChatGPT's file upload capability shone here, effortlessly handling my documents. Bard, lacking this feature, required manual text inputs, a noticeable drawback, especially with complex PDFs and large spreadsheets. To work around this, I had to ask ChatGPT to take a PDF and change it to text so I could paste it into Bard.

Analysis and Insights: A Surprising Turn from Bard

Once the information was fed into the platforms, each conducted and presented some basic level analysis. ChatGPT provided better information on the document itself, but Bard understood what I was trying to accomplish, and surprised me by going so far as to create an almost complete SWOT analysis.

Market Segmentation: Diverse Approaches

I pasted four detailed market segments I created that included detailed needs, preferences, and motivations into each platform. I then asked each platform to analyze my work and make any suggestions.

ChatGPT's response was a precise summary with specific considerations. Bard, however, provided broader insights, unexpectedly highlighting the crucial aspect of property location, a point I wholeheartedly agreed with.

Investment Analysis: The Local Context

Next, I asked each to help me conduct an investment analysis on the segments and redo them with a local focus. Both did a good job of providing top level analysis on pricing, ROI, and risk. I did like the way Bard presented the information better. Bard also provided some additional advice and considerations that ChatGPT did not provide, though none of this was something I had not already considered.

In-Depth Queries: A Mixed Bag of Insights

I then asked a series of more detailed questions, just to make sure I exhausted this topic.

Bard generated some surprising new insights, prompting me to reconsider my ultimate goals and values. However, Bard needed reminders about the research context, a point where ChatGPT showed more consistency.

Property Categorization and Commonalities: Bard's Strength

Next, I provided a list of properties I that I believed fell within the two remaining segments I selected for further analysis. I then asked each platform to categorize the properties into one of the segments. There were a lot of properties here. And each came up with slightly different responses, but nothing contradictory. Next, I asked the platforms to identify commonalities across the properties. Here, Bard really excelled and impressed me with the results.

Pricing and Packages: Bard Takes the Lead

I then set about doing a price comparison analysis. Here, ChatGPT stumbled badly, especially in extracting specific package prices from websites. Bard, on the other hand, started out fairly superficial. But, when asked to deep dive, it gave some very good information, breaking out price ranges and specific package offerings at each of the properties I identified.

This difference is likely due to their training sets and real time access to up-to-date data. At this time, ChatGPT training data goes to April 2023. While Bard is up to date. And while ChatGPT can browse the internet, its capabilities to interact with a website are limited.

User Experience and Presentation

Bard consistently impressed with its attentiveness, frequently seeking clarification when faced with ambiguities, a stark contrast to ChatGPT, which often forged ahead with its best guess, at times leading to inefficient use of its memory capacity. However, Bard wasn't without its issues; it occasionally became entangled in my requests for clarification, offering affirmations rather than concrete actions or answers.

Conclusion: Bard, the Market Research Champion

In conclusion, Bard outperformed ChatGPT in conducting market research, particularly for up-to-date information and unexpected insights. ChatGPT, while user-friendly and better at retaining information over a conversation, falls slightly behind in research capabilities.

Have you experienced the dynamic capabilities of ChatGPT and Bard? What are your thoughts on the future of AI in market research and analysis? Share your insights, questions, or even your own comparisons in the comments below.

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A note from John: My written content is created with originality and authenticity. While I employ AI tools to aid in brainstorming, refining, and offering general guidance, the essence, creativity, beliefs, opinions, and stories of each piece stem from my unique experiences and perspective.