When OpenAI’s ChatGPT went down early yesterday (June 10) during a global outage, users didn’t wait around — they started exploring the best ChatGPT alternatives.
According to a Google Trends analysis shared by QR Code Generator, searches for alternative chatbots spiked as ChatGPT remained offline.
One name stood out: DeepSeek, a lesser-known but powerful AI assistant built for reasoning, code generation and creative tasks. It saw the biggest traffic jump of all alternative chatbots — a 109% increase in daily searches, leaping from 1.02 million to 2.13 million queries in a single day.
Other AI platforms saw gains too. Searches for Claude AI nearly doubled (up 95%), while Google Gemini and Microsoft Copilot also surged by 80% and 52%, respectively.
“Today’s global outage of ChatGPT shows the importance of diversification,” said Marc Porcar, CEO of QR Code Generator PRO S.L. “The immediate 109% surge in DeepSeek searches and 95% increase for Claude shows that users are actively seeking alternatives rather than simply waiting.”
That shift could mark a turning point in the AI landscape. While ChatGPT has long dominated the generative AI space, this incident shows just how quickly users will pivot when a platform goes dark.
And with a recent update, DeepSeek is outperforming other models in industry bencharks, proving it is a serious contender to a ChatGPT alternative.
What is DeepSeek?
DeepSeek is a Chinese-developed large language model that excels in technical, analytical, and creative tasks. It supports long context windows, handles reasoning-intensive prompts with surprising accuracy and offers a dedicated coding assistant through DeepSeek-Coder.
For anyone trying the platform for the first time, here are five prompts that show what DeepSeek can do as you explore alternatives to ChatGPT.
1. Simplify a complex topic
Prompt: "Explain quantum computing to a 10-year-old.”
DeepSeek is great at translating difficult subjects into age-appropriate explanations.
You can also tailor the tone to match an audience, from elementary school to expert level. I use this prompt all the time to both understand things myself as well as explain complex topics to my kids.
2. Improve your code
Prompt: "Here’s my Python script for web scraping. Can you optimize it?”
I am not a serious coder, but occasionally I do need to write or improve my Python scripts. DeepSeek comes in handy for this, particularly DeepSeek-Coder as it is particularly strong at parsing code, suggesting improvements and even generating end-to-end scripts based on a few lines of input.
3. Write SEO-optimized content
Prompt: "Write a 500-word blog post about the benefits of cold showers with SEO keywords included.”
Need to crank out content? DeepSeek’s copywriting skills are solid, especially when prompted with structure and clear goals.
I don't recommend any chatbot for exclusive content writing, but if you use this prompt in conjunction with your own first draft, it can help fill in some of the details you missed and help with grammatical or spelling errors.
4. Build quizzes and study aids
Prompt: "Make a 10-question multiple choice quiz about the American Revolution.”
Perfect for students, teachers or trivia fans, this prompt turns DeepSeek into a custom quiz generator.
5. Simulate a debate
Prompt: "Simulate a debate between two experts: one for and one against AI regulation.”
Use this for research, writing or just seeing both sides of a hot-button issue.
Why this matters
ChatGPT’s outage may have caused frustration — but it also spotlighted a key truth. Users don’t just want one chatbot, they want options. With tools like DeepSeek and Claude rapidly improving and gaining visibility, we’re seeing the AI space evolve beyond just one dominant name.
Whether you’re testing alternatives out of necessity or curiosity, this moment is a reminder: when one chatbot goes down, there are numerous others ready and available, most of which are free.
More from Tom's Guide
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