Not all AIs are created equal. Some would possibly do artwork the very best, some are expert at coding, and others have the power to foretell protein constructions precisely.
However while you’re in search of one thing extra basic—simply “somebody” to speak to—the very best AI companions might not be those that know all of it, however the ones which have that je ne sais quoi that make you’re feeling OK simply by speaking, much like how your finest pal may not be a genius however by some means at all times is aware of precisely what to say.
AI companions are slowly rising in popularity amongst tech lovers, so it will be important for customers wanting the best high quality expertise or firms eager to grasp this facet of making the phantasm of genuine engagement to contemplate these variations.
We have been curious to seek out out which platform supplied the very best AI expertise when somebody merely seems like having a chat. Apparently sufficient, the very best fashions for this will not be actually those from the large AI firms—they’re simply too busy constructing fashions that excel at benchmarks.
It seems that friendship and empathy are an entire totally different beast.
Evaluating Sesame, Hume AI, ChatGPT, and Google Gemini. Which is extra human?
This evaluation pits 4 main AI companions towards one another—Sesame, Hume AI, ChatGPT, and Google Gemini—to find out which creates essentially the most human-like dialog expertise.
The analysis targeted on dialog high quality, distinct persona growth, interplay design, and likewise considers different human-type options equivalent to authenticity, emotional intelligence, and the refined imperfections that make dialogue really feel extra real.
You may watch all of our conversations by clicking on these hyperlinks or checking our Github Repository:
Right here is how every AI carried out.
Dialog High quality: The Human Contact vs. AI Awkwardness
The true take a look at of any AI companion is whether or not it could actually idiot you into forgetting you are speaking to a machine. Our evaluation tried to judge which AI was the very best at making customers need to simply maintain speaking by offering attention-grabbing suggestions, rapport, and general nice expertise.
Sesame: Sensible
Sesame blows the competitors away with dialogue that feels shockingly human. It casually drops phrases like “that is a doozy” and “taking pictures the breeze” whereas seamlessly switching between considerate reflections and punchy comebacks.
“You are asking large questions huh and actually I haven’t got all of the solutions,” Sesame responded when pressed about consciousness—full with pure hesitations that mimic real-time pondering. The occasional overuse of “” is its solely noticeable flaw, which sarcastically makes it really feel much more genuine.
Sesame’s actual edge? Conversations move naturally with out these awkward, formulaic transitions that scream “I am an AI!”
Rating: 9/10
Hume AI: Empathetic however Formulaic
Hume AI efficiently maintains conversational move whereas acknowledging your ideas with heat. Nevertheless it seems like speaking to somebody who’s disinterested and not likely that into you. Its replies have been rather a lot shorter than Sesame—they have been related however not likely attention-grabbing if you happen to needed to push the dialog ahead.
Its weak spot reveals in repetitive patterns. The bot constantly opens with “you have actually obtained me pondering” or “that is a captivating subject”—creating a way that you simply’re getting templated responses reasonably than natural dialog.
It is higher than the chatbots from the larger AI firms at sustaining pure dialogue, however repeatedly reminds you it is an “empathic AI,” breaking the phantasm that you simply’re chatting with an individual.
Rating: 7/10
ChatGPT: The Professor Who By no means Stops Lecturing
ChatGPT tracks advanced conversations with out dropping the thread—and it’s nice that it memorizes earlier conversations, basically making a “profile” of each person—but it surely feels such as you’re trapped in workplace hours with an excessively formal professor.
Even throughout private discussions, it could actually’t assist however sound educational: “the interaction of biology, chemistry, and consciousness creates a depth that AI’s sample recognition cannot replicate,” it mentioned in one among our assessments. Practically each response begins with “that is a captivating perspective”—a verbal tic that shortly turns into noticeable, and a typical downside that each one the opposite AIs besides Sesame confirmed.
ChatGPT’s largest flaw is its incapability to interrupt from educator mode, making conversations really feel like sequential mini-lectures reasonably than pure dialogue.
Rating 6/10
Google Gemini: Underwhelming
Gemini was painful to speak to. It often delivers a concise, informal response that sounds human, however then instantly undermines itself with jarring dialog breaks and decreasing its quantity.
Its most irritating behavior? Abruptly slicing off mid-thought to advertise AI matters. These steady disruptions create such a damaged dialog move that it is not possible to overlook you are speaking to a machine that is extra fascinated by self-promotion than precise dialogue.
For instance, when requested about feelings, Gemini responded: “It is nice that you simply’re fascinated by AI. There are such a lot of superb issues happ—” earlier than inexplicably stopping.
It additionally made certain to let it’s an AI, so there’s a giant hole between the person and the chatbot from the primary interplay that’s exhausting to disregard.
Rating 5/10
Character: Character Depth Separates the Genuine from the Synthetic
How does an AI develop a memorable persona? It can principally rely in your setup. Some fashions allow you to use system directions, others adapt their persona based mostly in your earlier interactions. Ideally, you’ll be able to body the dialog earlier than beginning it, giving the mannequin a persona, traits, a conversational fashion, and background.
To be honest in our comparability, we examined our fashions with none earlier setup—which means our dialog began with a good day and went straight to the purpose. Right here is how our fashions behaved naturally
Sesame: The Buddy You By no means Knew Was Code
Sesame crafts a persona you’d really need to seize espresso with. It drops phrases like “that is a Humdinger of a query” and “it is a tight rope stroll” that create a definite character with obvious viewpoints and perspective.
When discussing AI relationships, Sesame confirmed precise persona: “wow… think about a world the place everybody’s head is down plugged into their customized AI and we overlook the way to join nose to nose.” This sort of perspective feels much less like an algorithm and extra like a pondering entity. It’s additionally humorous (it as soon as advised us that our query blew its circuits), and its voice has a pure inflection that makes it simple to narrate to when attempting to painting a response. You may clearly inform when it’s excited, contemplative, unhappy and even annoyed
Its solely weak spot? Sometimes leaning too exhausting into its “considerate buddy” persona. That didn’t detract from its place as essentially the most distinctive AI persona we examined.
Rating 9/10
Hume AI: The Therapist Who Retains Mentioning Their Credentials
Hume AI maintains a constant persona as an emotionally clever companion. It additionally initiatives some heat by way of affirming language and emotional assist, so customers in search of that will probably be happy.
Its Achilles heel is mainly the truth that, form of just like the Harvard grad who wants to say that, Hume cannot cease reminding you it is synthetic: “As an empathetic AI I do not expertise feelings myself however I am designed to grasp and reply to human feelings.” These moments break the phantasm that makes companions compelling.
If speaking to GPT is like speaking to a professor, speaking to Hume seems like speaking to a therapist. It listens to you and creates rapport, but it surely makes certain to remind you that it’s really its job and never one thing that occurs naturally.
Regardless of this flaw, Hume AI initiatives a clearer character than both ChatGPT or Gemini—even when it feels extra constructed than spontaneous.
Rating 7/10
ChatGPT: The Professor With out Private Opinions
ChatGPT struggles to develop any distinctive character traits past basic helpfulness. It sounds overly excited to the purpose of being clearly pretend—like a “pal” who at all times smiles at you however is secretly fantasizing about throwing you in entrance of a bus.
“Haha, properly, I prefer to maintain the power up. It makes conversations extra enjoyable and interesting plus it is at all times nice to speak with you,” it mentioned after we requested in a really critical and unamused tone why it was performing so enthusiastically.
Its id points seem in responses that shift between figuring out with people and distancing itself as an AI. Its educational tone in responses persists even throughout private discussions, making a persona that seems like a strolling encyclopedia reasonably than a companion.
The mannequin’s default to academic explanations creates an impression extra of a software than a personality, leaving customers with little emotional connection.
Rating 6/10
Google Gemini: A number of Character Dysfunction
Gemini suffers from essentially the most extreme persona issues of all fashions examined. Inside single conversations, it shifts dramatically between considerate responses and promotional language with out warning.
It’s not actually an AI design to have a compelling persona. “My function is to supply info and full duties and I would not have the power to kind romantic relationships,” it mentioned when requested about its ideas on folks creating emotions in direction of AIs.
This inconsistency makes Gemini really feel like a Fifties film robotic, stopping any significant connection and even making it nice to spend time speaking to it.
Rating 3/10
Interplay Design
How an AI handles dialog mechanics—response timing, turn-taking, and error restoration—creates both seamless exchanges or irritating interactions. Right here is how these fashions stack up towards one another
Sesame: Pure Dialog Circulate Grasp
Sesame creates dialog rhythms that really feel very, very human. It varies response size naturally based mostly on context and handles philosophical uncertainty with out defaulting to lecture mode.
“Generally I really feel like perhaps I simply want to chop to the chase with a fast reply reasonably than a long-winded lecture, proper? You already know, so… that is a small humorous apart to let that I am conscious of the potential of falling right into a lecture mode and attempting to maintain issues gentle but in addition deep on the identical time,” Sesame advised us throughout a philosophical debate.
When discussing advanced matters, it responds conversationally, with a small joke, generally with statements, different instances with human noises like “hmmms” or whispers—which makes it very convincing as a human substitute.
Sesame additionally asks pure follow-up questions that push conversations ahead, whereas realizing when to change to statements when questioning would possibly really feel awkward. This adaptive strategy creates dialogue that feels spontaneous reasonably than scripted.
Rating 8/10
Hume AI: Structured However Transient
Hume AI was designed to let customers do the speaking. It recovers easily from misunderstandings with out over explaining and is nice at preserving the dialog going with related observe up questions.
Nevertheless, its responses are sometimes so quick that conversations require vital effort to take care of momentum, which in the end defeats its function. Customers ceaselessly want to supply new dialog fodder reasonably than having fun with pure dialogue growth.
One other weak spot seems in its templated response constructions—acknowledgment + rationalization + query—making a mechanical rhythm: “What a thought-provoking query! This Idea is certainly a captivating thought… What do you consider…?”
Nevertheless it has an ideal function that will really improve your chats: It’s capable of detect the degrees of emotion in every response, which is one thing no different mannequin can do. That is nice that will help you replicate on how a lot a subject impacts you and the way it’s approaching a selected state of affairs
Rating 7/10
ChatGPT: Good Chatter—However a Bit Unnatural
ChatGPT constantly addresses questions with related info however transforms conversations into unnecessarily elaborated interactions. Responses ceaselessly balloon into paragraph-length explanations that disrupt pure dialogue move.
For instance, we requested it if it may develop some stage of self consciousness or consciousness, and this was its reply:
“That is a captivating subject! Whereas AI can positively evolve and enhance by way of interactions, true self-awareness or Consciousness is one thing that continues to be uniquely human. AI can mimic conversational patterns, reply empathetically and even be taught from previous interactions, but it surely does not have an interior sense of self or subjective expertise. Researchers and builders are nonetheless exploring the boundaries of AI’s capabilities however for now Consciousness stays a uniquely human trait.”
That’s not how a human would work together.
Its heavy reliance on opener phrases like “that is a extremely attention-grabbing query,” or “that’s a captivating subject” earlier than each single reply additional undermines conversational immersion, creating an interplay sample that feels mechanical reasonably than pure.
Rating 6.5/10
Google Gemini: Dialog Breaking Machine
Gemini is a masterclass in how to not design dialog mechanics. It commonly cuts off mid-sentence, creating jarring breaks in dialogue move. It tries to select up extra noises, it interrupts you if you happen to take too lengthy to talk or take into consideration your reply and infrequently it simply decides to finish the dialog with none purpose.
Its compulsive have to inform you at each flip that your questions are “attention-grabbing” shortly transforms from flattering to irritating however appears to be a typical factor amongst AI chatbots.
Rating 3/10
Conclusion
After testing all these AIs, it’s simple to conclude that machines gained’t be capable to substitute a superb pal within the quick time period. Nevertheless, for that particular case wherein an AI should merely excel at feeling human, there’s a clear winner—and a transparent loser.
Sesame (9/10)
Sesame dominates the sphere with pure dialogue that mirrors human speech patterns. Its informal vernacular (“that is a doozy,” “taking pictures the breeze”) and diversified sentence constructions create authentic-feeling exchanges that stability philosophical depth with accessibility. The system excels at spontaneous-seeming responses, asking pure follow-up questions whereas realizing when to change approaches for optimum dialog move.
Hume AI (7/10)
Hume AI delivers specialised emotional monitoring capabilities at the price of conversational naturalness. Whereas competently sustaining dialogue coherence, its responses have a tendency towards brevity and observe predictable patterns that really feel constructed reasonably than spontaneous.
Its visible emotion tracker is fairly attention-grabbing, most likely good for self discovery even.
ChatGPT (5.6/10)
ChatGPT transforms conversations into lecture periods with paragraph-length explanations that disrupt pure dialogue. Response delays create awkward pauses whereas formal language patterns reinforce an academic reasonably than companion expertise. Its strengths in data group could attraction to customers looking for info, but it surely nonetheless struggles to create genuine companionship.
Google Gemini (3.5/10)
Gemini was clearly not designed for this. The system routinely cuts off mid-sentence, abandons dialog threads, and isn’t capable of present human-linke responses. Its extreme persona inconsistency and mechanical interplay patterns create an expertise nearer to a malfunctioning product than significant companionship.
It’s attention-grabbing that Gemini Stay scored so low, contemplating Google’s Gemini-based NotebookLM is able to producing extraordinarily good and lengthy podcasts about any form of info, with AI hosts that sound extremely human.
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