As I’ve worked with various LLMs for different tasks, I’ve noticed some patterns. This article focuses on using LLMs for writing, styling, and editorial jobs.

Writing

While modern LLMs do a good job proofreading, catching spelling and grammar mistakes, they do vary in style suggestions.

  • OpenAI ChatGPT-4o keeps it close to your style. Your draft, or text from a non-native speaker, won’t be turned into a production-quality Shakespeare play by default. It is good for your personal writing but could be a lesser fit for pretentious PR or where you need an inflated text from your draft. I find YMMV with ChatGPT-4o.

  • ChatGPT-3.5 suffers from a smaller context window. The larger window of “4o” is a game changer.

  • Facebook LLama3-70b-8k has a clear and concise style, with faster responses but a downside of a smaller context window. It is a good option for shorter, faster writing tasks with limited follow-ups needed.

  • Google Gemini 1.5 is a graphomaniac. It bloats your text 1.5-2x and turns it into euphoric hype. Asking to down-level the excitement doesn’t help much. It tends to overuse patterns suitable for hard-sell ad campaigns and PRs but not for human writing.
    “I believe the road to hell is paved with adverbs” (Stephen King’s “On Writing”)

Examples

Here are a few examples of code blocks and syntax highlighting:

LLama3-70b-8k

“Code Blocks and Syntax Highlighting with ZZZ”

LLama3-70b-8k keeps the text short and clean.

“One of the essential features of any X is code blocks and syntax highlighting. As a Y, you want to share your code with your audience in a clear and readable format. ZZZ has got you covered!”

The model tries to keep the excitement level reasonable. “Essential,” “clear,” and “readable” are reasonable here. “Got you covered!” is pushing it.

Gemini 1.5

“Showcasing Code Beauty: Syntax Highlighting in ZZZ”

The pattern of “X: Y” is overly frequent with Gemini, especially for headers.

“One of the essential features of any X is the ability to present code snippets beautifully and effectively. ZZZ makes this a breeze with its built-in syntax highlighting support. ZZZ supports a wide range of programming languages, ensuring your code looks clean, readable, and professional. For a complete list of supported languages, check out ZZZ documentation.”

Twice the size of LLama3-70b output conveying the same info. “Essential, beautifully, effectively, a breeze, a wide range. “Clean, readable, and professional”. This happens to every text produced by Gemini.

ChatGPT-4o

“Syntax Highlighting in ZZZ”

ChatGPT-4o tends to keep text dry and short.

“ZZZ makes it easy to add syntax highlighting to your code blocks. Using YYY, ZZZ supports a wide range of languages for highlighting. For a full list of supported languages, visit the ZZZ highlighting languages list.”

No excitement, all business. For this writing task, it’s a bit dry.

What’s wrong with Gemini?

I wonder if Gemini’s style is a result of a biased training set or LLM tuning by Google.

I suspect the configuration plays some role here, as in general, Gemini acts euphorically excited on any task, e.g., “You are absolutely correct to…”, “You’re asking a very important question!…”, etc.

While the over-excitement could potentially be (mis-)configured, configuring the deliberate bloating doesn’t make sense. The same with the abuse of “X: Y” in headers, points, etc. All that suggests that Google’s training dataset could be biased or of low quality.

Conclusion

  1. For concise, short texts that follow your style, I recommend ChatGPT-4o. When a more generic style or less condensed text is needed, Llama3-70b is a good choice. I suggest considering Gemini only for specific PR needs or when paid per word.
  2. Google’s model inference configuration is questionable, if not opinionated. The training dataset quality could be lacking.

Appendix

Another example of Gemini abusing the “X: Y”.

An X Inspired by Simplicity: Introducing ZZZ

ZZZ is a free and open-source …

Key Features: Where Simplicity Meets Functionality

ZZZ doesn’t just look good; it’s built for a smooth user experience across all devices:

  • Responsive Design: Your content will look stunning on desktops, laptops, tablets, and smartphones, adapting flawlessly to different screen sizes.
  • Minimalistic and Clean Layout: Say goodbye to clutter. We believe in a clean aesthetic that puts your writing front and center, making it easy for readers to focus.
  • Effortless Customization: Tailor the Y to match your brand. Adjust colors, fonts, and layouts with ease using X.
  • SEO Optimized: Built-in features help X to do Y on your content, improving Z.
  • XYZ Integration: Seamlessly integrate XYZ to gain valuable insights into your audience.
  • Multilingual Prowess: Reach a X with ease. ZZZ is designed for smooth multilingual support, allowing you to translate your content and reach Y.
  • Extensive Customizations: While minimalist at its core, ZZZ offers a range of customization options to Z to your liking.

Start Building Your Beautiful Multilingual ABC Today

Experience the elegance and simplicity of ZZZ. Visit the URL to download the theme and explore its documentation.