I let ChatGPT be my personal trainer for a week, but can it do better than a human fitness coach?

As millions turn to ChatGPT to experiment with it, a trend in using its generative AI in place of a personal assistant, therapist and even doctor has emerged. Another role the platform is vying for is a personal trainer.

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Tom's Guide

an hour ago

• Tom's Guide

I tested Perplexity vs Google AI overview with 7 prompts — the results were shocking

Search is undergoing a profound change. For decades, Google has dominated the web search world, with some 90% of all searches funnelled through the massive Google machine. But suddenly, with the arrival of artificial intelligence, things are starting to change, and seriously so. Not only are people increasingly using AI products like ChatGPT as their default search tool, but companies like Perplexity are also building businesses around search services. The idea is to combine the power of AI analysis with the huge amount of conventional search data available at the end of a cursor. But Google is fighting back. The company has recently released an advanced search function called AI Overviews, which aims to bridge the two disciplines and deliver the kind of informed search results the market demands. It's a new kind of search on steroids. So how do the two approaches compare in everyday use? We take a look at Google's new AI Overviews and compare the results to Perplexity AI, to see which gives a better bang for the buck. Prompt: Summarize the key contributions of John McCarthy, Geoffrey Hinton and Noam Shazeer to the development of artificial intelligence. We thought we'd start with something close to home - a look at the architects of AI from the past. First impressions are that Google delivers a competent but fairly traditional results page from this request. Its answer of 238 words covers all the basic points and gives a good overview of the points as you'd expect. Perplexity delivers over 400 words, but it's more than just the quantity that's impressive. It's the fact that the results are laid out in a much more engaging manner, with the user being encouraged to explore additional information in a variety of different ways. They can explore related data, look directly at the sources and even regenerate the results to get a different perspective. Where Google seems to do the bare minimum, Perplexity really seems to add user value. Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. Google 4/10 Perplexity 7/10 Prompt: Create a 3-day itinerary for a first-time visitor to Tokyo on a modest budget. The user is interested in Japanese culture and food, but wants to avoid tourist traps. This is a real kicker, a stark example of the old versus the new. Google completely fails to deliver any meaningful response, but instead retreats to a standard Google search. The answer merely features a selection of third-party websites offering tour advice. This is obviously beneficial to Google as it will no doubt allow it to earn ad revenue. Perplexity, on the other hand, delivers a glorious 1000 words of real down-to-earth itinerary. This includes gorgeous photos, maps and itemized costings, which will be more than enough for the user to get a great idea of the proposed experience. Google 2/10 Perplexity 9/10 Prompt: What is the technology behind noise cancelling headphones? Once again we can see the difference between traditional search results and new style AI analysis, although in this case the difference is not so great. Google's results are very credible with 186 words of explanation, along with a useful YouTube video. Perplexity, however, takes it to a more advanced level. The explanation is roughly the same, but the prose is much more accessible to a layperson. Instead of using the word 'inverse', for example, the app chooses to use simpler English to explain how sound is cancelled. It's a subtle but important use of 500 words to achieve a more understandable answer. Google 6/10 Perplexity 8/10 Prompt: Explain the 'double-dig' method of garden bed preparation and contrast it to no-till farming This is quite an obscure test, involving little-known agricultural techniques. But for gardeners it's a very important topic. Google's response is very workmanlike and informative, and uses 260 words to deliver a good answer to the question. The use of Reddit and the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) are also great sources, which add authority to the answer. Unfortunately for Google, Perplexity once again matches and exceeds in response quality. The RHS and Reddit are also mentioned, as is YouTube. But two things really make this answer stand out. First, the use of a great table to explain the differences at a glance and, most importantly, a conclusion, which gives a clear indication as to why no-dig is increasingly considered the better solution. Google 7/10 Perplexity 8/10 Prompt: What are the primary compliance challenges for a US-based tech startup under the EU's AI Act? This request pushes search to the limits of topicality and obtuse legal documents. Surprisingly, Google's results are very lackluster. The search engine offers up a 57 word March 2025 'featured snippet' from an obscure third-party publication, and that's it. It shows no interest in digging deeper into the topic for the user. Yet again Perplexity tries harder. We're talking 600 words set in a beautiful bullet point format, running through the main challenges and issues surrounding compliance. Along with 9 easily accessible sources and a handful of related subject matter links. Masterful. Google 2/10 Perplexity 8/10 Prompt: What does the history and potential future of blockchain and cryptocurrency look like? This prompt clearly demonstrates why Google's AI Overview is unfortunately not really ready for prime time. The original prompt was something like 'explain cryptocurrency to a fifth grader', but when tested Google couldn't handle it and served up a lame Quora snippet. It's only when we changed the prompt to this one that AI Overview kicked into action, and delivered a reasonable result. It's obvious there's not that much AI involved in AI Overview yet. Interestingly though, this was probably Google's best result. We got 400 words of densely packed information covering the topic clearly and succinctly. Perplexity was also good, providing 600 words and a nice table. Not much to choose between the two then. Google 8/10 Perplexity 8/10 Prompt: What kind of cat is this? For the final prompt we thought we'd go with something a little more exotic. Both search platforms support image upload, so what better than to upload a friendly looking cat to get some more information? Google takes the uploaded image as a prompt to display a page full of similar images, which aligns with its original image matching search. But a re-prompt of 'what kind of cat is this' then delivered a very short four line answer which, although correct, was not super helpful. Perplexity's response was 246 words, with bullets points, covering coat pattern, fur, and the breed. Even a fun fact (calico cats are almost always female). Engaging and informative. Google 3/10 Perplexity 7/10 The king is dead, long live the king? Based on this showing, the rumors could indeed be true. The mighty Google may in fact be on the way to losing its grip on the world's search traffic. Is this the end of an era? Time will tell. However if there's one thing we've learned over the years, it's never to discount the ability of the Google empire to strike back. Uniquely in the world, the company has the compute power, the data and the legendary AI pedigree to surprise us all. Test Notes. It should be noted that we did not use any of the advanced Perplexity functions, but kept to the basic default service. Which make the results even more impressive. It's also important to recognize the fact that AI can get things wrong. Both services feature disclaimers which stress that users should not assume AI search responses are factually correct. This is an early technology finding its feet, users should take care.

Yahoo

an hour ago

• Yahoo

OpenAI Careens Toward Messy Divorce From Microsoft

Quick, someone call TMZ: There's an even messier celebrity breakup than Trump-Musk with countless billions at stake. Relations between OpenAI and its largest investor, Microsoft, are continuing to fray as the ascendant artificial intelligence firm struggles to get approval from its investor on the fine points of reorganizing into a for-profit public benefit corporation. According to a report in The Wall Street Journal last week, OpenAI is now even considering a 'nuclear option' to sever ties for good. READ ALSO: Drones Steal the Paris Air Show and Berkshire Slips Amid Concern Retiring CEO May Take 'Buffett Premium' With Him At the heart of the matter is how large a stake Microsoft will own in OpenAI's public benefit corporation, a subsidiary of the ChatGPT maker that will still be controlled by the nonprofit parent. According to a recent Reuters report, OpenAI wants the Big Tech player to hold a 33% stake while relinquishing its rights to future profits. Microsoft hasn't agreed, and the two sides are at loggerheads over the matter, though it's far from their first fight. Microsoft already loosened its grip on the AI firm in January, allowing some key terms of their agreement to change so that OpenAI could tap data centers outside of the Microsoft Azure infrastructure. That resulted in 'Stargate,' a high-profile $500 million data center joint venture between OpenAI, Softbank, and Oracle (with Microsoft, Nvidia, and Arm serving as 'technology partners'). But opening the door to more independence may be objectionable to Microsoft: Earlier this month, Reuters reported OpenAI is now planning to tap Google's cloud services to meet its growing need for computing capacity. In another line-crossing move, The Information reported last week that OpenAI has been offering a suite of ChatGPT enterprise tools at discounts of up to 20%, directly undercutting sales of competing Microsoft services like Copilot. In other words, tensions are at an all-time high, and now both sides are throwing around fighting words at a time when level-headed communication is crucial: According to the WSJ, OpenAI executives have discussed a 'nuclear option' of formally accusing Microsoft of antitrust violations if it can't come to an agreement with the Windows-maker over transition terms. According to a Financial Times report published Wednesday, Microsoft is prepared to walk away from negotiations altogether and simply ride out its existing commercial contract with OpenAI, which is set to last until 2030. That would leave OpenAI stuck with its current structure, which means it'd lose out on half of the $40 billion investment SoftBank committed to making in April, which was contingent on a successful restructuring to for-profit by the end of the year. Burn Book: Microsoft isn't the only Big Tech firm OpenAI has waded into a blood feud with. The company now finds itself openly at war with Meta, which is offering $100 million signing bonuses to poach OpenAI talent as it seeks to bolster its AI efforts. OpenAI founder Sam Altman last week jabbed back by saying, 'I don't think that [Meta's] great at innovation.' At this rate, we have to imagine Altman isn't exactly the most popular player at our imagined weekly poker night among Silicon Valley bigwigs (actually, let's be honest, they're probably playing Magic: The Gathering). This post first appeared on The Daily Upside. To receive delivering razor sharp analysis and perspective on all things finance, economics, and markets, subscribe to our free The Daily Upside newsletter. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data

Time of India

an hour ago

• Time of India

Are college degrees less relevant in AI era? LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman has an advice for students

In a world where ChatGPT writes code, Midjourney creates art, and AI resumes land interviews, it's no surprise that today's students are asking: Does my college degree still matter? The rise of AI has sparked a wave of uncertainty among young graduates, and Silicon Valley veteran Reid Hoffman—LinkedIn co-founder and venture capitalist—has stepped in with a timely reality check and some solid advice for the Class of 2025 and beyond. In a video shared on his YouTube channel this week, Hoffman addressed the growing concern around whether traditional degrees are becoming obsolete in an AI-powered job market. His answer was simple: Don't focus on the degree—focus on how you learn. 'Given that things are so disruptive, it's natural to feel anxious,' he said in response to a student's question. It's natural to question whether all the knowledge gained in college still holds value in a rapidly changing world. But the real benefit of a college education isn't tied to specific subjects or courses—it lies in developing the ability to learn, unlearn, and adapt as new tools and challenges emerge. According to Hoffman, the most powerful currency in the age of AI is not your diploma—it's your mindset. He urged students to stay curious, embrace lifelong learning , and keep experimenting with new tools and challenges. In a fast-changing world, adaptability is far more valuable than memorising a syllabus. He also emphasised that college is about more than just academics. It's a foundational period for building lasting relationships and a sense of community. The friends made and experiences shared during those years form a valuable network—one that can offer support, collaboration, and growth throughout both personal and professional journeys. In essence, Hoffman's advice is less about fearing obsolescence and more about future-proofing your mindset. In the AI era, your greatest asset isn't your degree—it's your ability to keep learning, stay connected, and adapt to whatever comes next.