I Tried to Replace My News Feed with AI: Here’s What Happened
Can AI replace your news feed? I tried it. Find out the surprising results and why human journalism still reigns supreme.
Discover what happened when I replaced my news feed with AI, exploring how it reshaped my daily content and news intake in surprising ways.
AI brings many benefits but also comes with challenges and ethical issues, especially in gathering daily news. AI bots like ChatGPT, Chatsonic, Perplexity, Copilot and Gemini often show inconsistencies when providing news updates. They might not always get facts right or might give conflicting information, making it important to be cautious when relying on them for news.
- AI chatbots like ChatGPT and others provide varying news updates.
- They may struggle with accuracy and consistency in their responses.
- Their limitations in understanding prompts can affect quality of news updates.
Using Generative AI for Daily News: Comparing 5 Services
I tried out some of best generative AI bots for getting daily news including ChatGPT, Chatsonic, Perplexity, Copilot and Gemini. Each one gave different responses due to how they interpret questions, their ability to access real-time information and their understanding of context.
Here’s a detailed comparison of how each one performed
ChatGPT (Free)
Free version of ChatGPT now uses upgraded AI model called GPT-4o. This model is designed to give users better responses with access to internet but there are some restrictions. You can only ask 16 questions with GPT-4o within a 24-hour period. After you reach this limit, model will switch back to GPT-3.5. Problem with GPT-3.5 is that it can’t connect to internet, so it can only provide information up to April 2023, which means it’s not helpful for current events or breaking news.
For checking news: GPT-4o can be quite handy. If you ask something simple like, “What are today’s news headlines?” you won’t use up too much of your daily allowance. This way, you can stay updated without running out of your 16-question limit too quickly. You can ask for more specific information too but just remember that each question will count toward that limit. Once you’ve used all 16 questions, if you try to ask GPT-3.5 for updates on current events, it won’t be able to help because it doesn’t have access to live information. So, if you’ve used up your GPT-4o questions, you’ll be stuck with outdated news from GPT-3.5.
One thing to keep in mind is that while ChatGPT can provide quick news updates, sources it pulls from may not always be accurate or detailed. For example- it might show you headlines from big stories but when you click on provided source, it may not take you directly to right page. Another issue is that it sometimes suggests older news, even when data cut-off isn’t problem. For instance, it might share a cybersecurity story that was big news weeks ago, making it less relevant by time you read it.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Access to upgraded GPT-4o model with internet connectivity. | Limited to 16 questions within a 24-hour period. |
| Useful for quick daily news updates. | Reverts to GPT-3.5 after limit is reached, which lacks internet access. |
| Simple prompts like “Give me today’s news headlines” are efficient. | Inaccurate or non-specific source links. |
| Can provide general information quickly. | May suggest outdated news, even with internet access. |
Chatsonic
Chatsonic is another AI tool that responds well to news requests, similar to ChatGPT. It covers a variety of topics, including current events, politics, business, technology and entertainment. One feature that sets Chatsonic apart is its ability to provide short summaries of news stories. This makes it easier to quickly understand what the story is about and decide if you want to explore it further.
However like ChatGPT, Chatsonic’s choice of news sources can be hit or miss. Sometimes it pulls headlines from well-known publications like Hindustan Times but other times, it might choose smaller, more localized sources that aren’t as relevant to broader audience. For example- on one occasion, it pulled a headline from a niche outlet in Wisconsin because story was related to a local election. While this may be important locally, it doesn’t necessarily reflect biggest news of day on a national or global scale.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Provides a variety of news topics, including politics, business and technology. | Inconsistent choice of sources; may include niche or less relevant outlets. |
| Offers short summaries of news stories for quick understanding. | Sometimes prioritizes local or smaller news over broader, more significant stories. |
| Easy to use for daily news updates. | Source reliability can vary, leading to mixed relevance. |
Perplexity
Perplexity offers daily news updates that can be useful but you may need to experiment with how you ask for information. Depending on prompt you give, it might return older headlines along with more current ones. For instance, when asking for U.S. news, you might get a mix of stories from past few weeks as well as breaking news from last day or two.
If you find right way to ask, Perplexity can provide a good balance of timely headlines. However, there are times when it may still show old news, so you might have to try a couple of different prompts to get most accurate results.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Offers a range of headlines, sometimes including breaking news. | May return older headlines alongside recent ones. |
| Can be accurate with right prompts. | Requires specific prompts to get most up-to-date and relevant news. |
| Covers a variety of topics. | Can be inconsistent without prompt tweaking. |
Microsoft Copilot
Microsoft Copilot is good at providing accurate headlines but it doesn’t give as much detail as some other tools. It offers brief, to-the-point headlines, which are useful if you’re just looking for a quick summary of day’s events. However, this brevity can also be a drawback if you want more context or depth in the stories.
For example- when it comes to tech news, Copilot might cover stories from past week or so but you won’t get much more than a single-line summary. It’s helpful as a starting point but if you want to dig deeper into news, you’ll need to look elsewhere.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Provides accurate and current headlines. | Headlines are often too brief, lacking detail and depth. |
| Covers news from past 24-48 hours. | Limited range of topics compared to other tools. |
| Good for quick summaries of day’s events. | Less effective for complex or detailed news stories. |
Gemini
Gemini is one of better AI tools for getting daily news updates but like others it depends on how you ask. If you give it a general prompt, like asking for day’s headlines, it might only return a few stories with little to no analysis. However, if you ask more specifically, like requesting tech news for day, you’re more likely to get detailed and up-to-date results.
One downside of Gemini is that while it provides a list of sources, it doesn’t give direct links to stories. Instead, you’ll have to search for articles yourself based on list of sources it provides. This can be a bit inconvenient if you’re looking for a specific story.
Each AI chatbot has its strengths and weaknesses when it comes to daily news updates. ChatGPT and Chatsonic are helpful for quick updates but may not always provide most accurate or timely sources. Perplexity and Gemini are more consistent but require more specific prompts to get best results. Microsoft Copilot is great for short summaries but lacks depth. Ultimately, choice of which AI to use depends on what type of news you’re looking for and how much detail you need.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Offers detailed and accurate headlines with specific prompts. | Requires specific prompts for best results. |
| Can cover recent and breaking news effectively. | Provides a list of sources but not direct links to articles. |
| Good for both general and tech news when prompted correctly. | May offer minimal analysis with general prompts. |
Reasons Why AI Chatbots Aren’t the Best Source for News
While AI chatbots can be helpful for getting a quick overview of news, relying on them as your only source of information can lead to several challenges. These tools are still evolving and they encounter significant limitations. Here are six reasons why AI chatbots shouldn’t be your sole source for daily news updates:
1. Lack of Nuance
AI chatbots struggle with capturing full context and emotional depth of news stories. While they can summarize events, these summaries often miss emotions tied to stories—such as grief, joy or outrage. As a result, news provided can feel flat or disconnected from real-world impact on people’s lives. Without human insight, AI often fails to deliver a meaningful perspective on events it reports.
2. Inconsistency
One of biggest issues with AI chatbots is their inconsistency. You can ask same question to same AI on different days and get different answers. Sometimes, chatbot will miss headlines or even present incorrect information. This inconsistency means that you’re never guaranteed a reliable or complete overview of news, making it difficult to trust AI as your go-to news source.
3. Limited Coverage
Although some AI tools connect to internet, they still have limitations in breadth of their coverage. Chatbots might pull from questionable or niche sources and their scope of news is often narrower than traditional news outlets. This can leave you missing out on important topics, especially those outside mainstream. While prompting AI for more specific information can help, overall coverage is still limited compared to professional news sites.
4. AI Hallucinations
One of more concerning issues with AI is potential for hallucinations where AI fabricates information and presents it as fact. Although AI technology has improved and hallucinations are becoming less frequent, they still happen. When it comes to news, accuracy is crucial and you don’t want to risk being misinformed by an AI-generated falsehood. Fortunately, during testing, no major hallucinations were noted but it’s still something to be cautious of.
5. Questionable Sources
Another limitation is tendency for AI chatbots to pull information from less reputable or unreliable sources. Even though AI can access vast amounts of data, it doesn’t always discriminate between high-quality journalism and lower-quality content. This can result in receiving news from questionable publications that may lack credibility, accuracy or proper fact-checking.
6. Time and Effort
In the end, relying on AI chatbots for news can become a bit of a chore. You may find yourself needing to tweak prompts, ask follow-up questions or even verify information elsewhere. At that point, it might be faster and more efficient to simply visit a trusted news website, browse through headlines and get your updates without all back-and-forth.
- These Are Top 5 Canva AI Tools
- Sinkclose Bug Devastates AMD Chips: 3 Worst Case Scenarios
- Use Apple Maps Online in Web Browser
Conclusion: Replace My News Feed with AI
AI chatbots can be a helpful starting point for news but they are far from perfect. Their lack of nuance, inconsistency, limited coverage and potential for hallucination all make them unreliable as a primary news source. While it’s convenient to ask a chatbot for quick updates, you’ll likely need to supplement its information with traditional news outlets to get a fuller, more accurate picture of current events.
