What is DeepSeek and How is it Changing Search?

I’ve been using tools like Gemini, Claude, and ChatGPT daily, paying about $60 a month to stay on top of the best AI. So, I decided it was time to give DeepSeek a try for the first time to see how it compares. This post covers my first impressions of the platform, from its content creation abilities to its coding prowess.

For more details, feel free to watch my full video review below.

What is DeepSeek?

DeepSeek is an advanced large language model (LLM) that has gained significant attention, particularly for its strong performance in coding and reasoning tasks.

Unlike many of its competitors, DeepSeek is open source. This means its underlying code is accessible, allowing developers to build upon it. The company behind the model is DeepSeek AI, a Chinese-based company founded in July of 2023. While the model itself is free to use through its chat interface, the company generates revenue by offering an API for developers who want to integrate the model into their own applications.

DeepSeek was founded in July 2023 by Liang Wenfeng, the co-founder of High-Flyer, who also serves as the CEO for both companies.

How Does DeepSeek AI Work?

DeepSeek AI employs a sophisticated architecture to deliver its results, setting it apart from some other models. It combines several advanced techniques to process information and generate responses.

Here's a breakdown of its core mechanics:

• Mixture-of-Experts (MoE) architecture: Think of this like having a team of specialized experts instead of one generalist. When you ask a question, the system routes it to the most relevant "expert" models. This approach allows DeepSeek to handle a wide variety of tasks efficiently, especially complex ones, by using its computational resources more effectively.
• Reinforcement learning: DeepSeek is trained using a method called Reinforcement Learning from Human Feedback (RLHF). This process involves human reviewers ranking and providing feedback on the model's responses. This feedback helps the model learn what constitutes a high-quality, helpful, and accurate answer, refining its performance over time.
• Model distillation: This technique involves training a smaller, more compact model (the "student") to replicate the performance of a larger, more complex model (the "teacher"). This allows DeepSeek to offer powerful capabilities in a more efficient package, which is particularly beneficial for making the technology more accessible and reducing operational costs.

What is DeepSeek Used For?

DeepSeek is a versatile tool that can be applied to a wide range of tasks, from simple information retrieval to complex data analysis and code generation. Its capabilities make it useful for professionals across various fields.

Here’s a look at some of its primary uses:

Data analysis

One of the first tests I ran was a competitive analysis for a website. I gave DeepSeek my site and a competitor's site and asked it to identify content gaps. It quickly analyzed both, identified the competitor's weaknesses (like product-focused content and poor keyword optimization), and provided a 10-topic content plan for my site to exploit those gaps. It was much faster than Gemini or Claude at this task, though the final report felt a little less thorough.

Quick search and information access

DeepSeek has a web search function that feels very similar to Perplexity. When I asked it to research a blog topic, it pulled information from 49 different sources, including reputable sites like Healthline. It clearly lists its sources, which adds a layer of trust to the information it provides. This live search capability is a big advantage, especially since you’re getting it for free.

Chatbot

At its core, DeepSeek functions as a powerful chatbot. You can ask it questions, give it instructions, and have a conversation. The interface is clean and straightforward, reminiscent of Gemini. You can attach files, toggle web search, and use a "Deep Think" mode for more complex problems.

What are the Core Features of DeepSeek?

DeepSeek comes equipped with several key features that cater to developers, researchers, and content creators. These features are designed to handle technical tasks with high proficiency.

Let's look at what it offers:

Advance AI-Powered Search

DeepSeek’s search capabilities are a standout feature, allowing it to gather and process information from the web to inform its responses.

• Enhanced Search Accuracy: When enabled, the web search function actively scours the internet for relevant, up-to-date information. In my tests, it cited dozens of sources for a single query, which is great for fact-checking and understanding where the information is coming from.
• Deep-Think Mode: This is a specific mode you can activate that encourages the model to think more deeply about a problem before responding. It's designed for more complex reasoning tasks where a surface-level answer won't suffice. I used this for the competitive analysis and it did a good job of planning its approach before generating the report.

Coding Assistance

DeepSeek has a reputation for being strong in coding, and my tests confirmed it's quite capable. I used it to create both a landing page and a simple application.

• Automated Code Completion: I gave it a one-sentence prompt: "Can you create a simple landing page for my new SaaS product called Tube Genius?". It generated the complete HTML, CSS, and JavaScript for a functional landing page.
• Error Detection and Optimization: The initial landing page had some text that was hard to read against the background. I asked it to make the text "bright white," and it immediately provided the modified code to fix the issue.
• Code Analysis and Debugging: When I ran the code, it provided a live preview in a sidebar. This makes it easy to spot issues and request changes on the fly without having to copy and paste the code into a separate environment.

Research and Data Analysis

The model proves to be a solid assistant for research tasks, capable of sifting through large amounts of information to provide structured answers.

• Data Summarization and Analysis: The competitor analysis I performed is a perfect example. It took two websites, analyzed their content strategies, and summarized the key opportunities in a clear, actionable report.
• Information Gathering and Verification: By providing source links for its claims, DeepSeek allows you to verify the information it presents. This is a critical feature for any serious research.

Creative Projects

While its main strengths seem to be technical, DeepSeek can also handle creative writing tasks. I tested its ability to generate a blog post.

• Content generation: I gave it a topic, a detailed prompt with negative keywords, and a target word count of 2,000 words. It produced a well-structured, 750-word article with a 6th-grade reading level, which was impressive. However, it failed to meet the requested word count even after a second attempt.
• Writing and editing: It successfully rewrote the article in a different tone (first-person, talking to a friend) and added tables and charts as requested. It's good at adapting its writing style based on instructions.

Use Cases of DeepSeek

The applications for DeepSeek are broad, spanning across different industries and roles. Its strong coding and analytical skills make it particularly useful for technical professionals, but its general capabilities are valuable for almost anyone.

Here are some practical use cases:

Academic research

Students and researchers can use DeepSeek to gather information from numerous sources, summarize academic papers, and generate outlines for their work. The ability to cite sources makes it a helpful starting point for literature reviews.

Analyzing healthcare data

With its ability to process information and perform analysis, DeepSeek could be used to identify trends in non-sensitive healthcare data or create informational content. The keto diet blog post I generated is an example of creating health-related content, and the BMI calculator shows its ability to build health-tech tools.

E-commerce customer insights

An e-commerce business could use DeepSeek to perform competitor analysis, just as I did. By analyzing competitor websites and reviews, a business could identify gaps in the market, find underserved customer needs, and develop a content strategy to attract more traffic.

Financial analysis

While I didn't test this specifically, DeepSeek's analytical capabilities could be applied to financial data. A user could ask it to analyze market trends based on news articles, summarize financial reports, or create models for budgeting. Its coding function could also be used to build simple financial calculators.

Software engineering and code generation

This is one of DeepSeek's strongest areas. Developers can use it to generate boilerplate code, create entire landing pages, build simple web applications like the BMI calculator, debug existing code, and learn new programming concepts.

DeepSeek vs. Other LLMs

The big question for many is whether DeepSeek can replace the tools they already use and pay for. Based on my initial review, it's a capable tool, but it doesn't necessarily outperform the established players in every area.

Here's a head-to-head comparison with other major LLMs:

DeepSeek vs. ChatGPT

ChatGPT is generally considered better for conversational, creative, and general knowledge tasks. DeepSeek, on the other hand, seems to have an edge in highly technical and reasoning tasks like mathematics and coding. While both can code, the output from DeepSeek is functional but may lack the aesthetic polish of other models.

DeepSeek vs. LLaMA

Both DeepSeek and LLaMA are prominent open-source models. LLaMA, developed by Meta, is known for its strong general performance and has a large community supporting it. DeepSeek often competes closely on technical benchmarks, particularly in coding. The choice between them often comes down to the specific task and which model's performance on a given benchmark is more important to the user.

DeepSeek vs. Gemini

In my experience, Google Gemini is superior for creating long-form content. When I asked both to write a 2,000-word article, DeepSeek struggled to get past 1,000 words, whereas Gemini can consistently produce longer, well-researched pieces. Gemini also has "Gems," which are customizable workflows that DeepSeek lacks. This feature alone gives Gemini a significant advantage for efficiency and scaling tasks.

DeepSeek vs. Falcon

Falcon is another powerful open-source model known for its performance. When comparing the two, DeepSeek's models often show a particular strength in coding and math. Falcon, however, has been praised for its performance across a broader range of general language tasks. For developers focused purely on code generation, DeepSeek might be preferable.

Getting Started with DeepSeek

Getting started with DeepSeek is incredibly simple. I went to the website, chose my language, and logged in with my Google account. The whole process took about two clicks. There was no complicated setup or credit card required.

The user interface is minimal and clean. There's not much clutter, which puts the focus entirely on the chat. You can easily switch to a dark theme from the system settings, which I did for my review. The main screen presents you with a chat box, an attachment button, and toggles for "Search the web" and "Deep Think." It’s all very intuitive.

Summary

After spending some time with DeepSeek, I have a solid feel for its strengths and weaknesses. The idea behind it is impressive, especially the fact that it's open-source and free to use. It's very capable at coding and its live web research is fast and useful.

However, it’s not without its flaws. I ran into server errors, and it struggled to follow instructions for long-form content generation. A major issue I found was with its knowledge base feature; when I uploaded my own documents for a custom chatbot, it couldn't find simple information that I knew was in there. For coding, while it's functional, a tool like Claude produces far more aesthetically pleasing results. It also lacks the workflow and customization features of Gemini's "Gems" or ChatGPT's "GPTs," which is a dealbreaker for anyone focused on efficiency.

FAQs About DeepSeek

Who can use DeepSeek?

Anyone can use DeepSeek. It's especially useful for developers, students, researchers, and anyone who needs a powerful AI tool for coding or analysis without wanting to pay for a subscription.

Is DeepSeek free to use?

Yes, the DeepSeek chat interface is free to use. The company makes money by charging for API access, which allows developers to integrate DeepSeek into their own applications.

Here's a look at their API pricing:

Is DeepSeek safe?

The platform is open-source, but it is developed by a Chinese-based company. For users in other countries, particularly the United States, this may raise questions about data privacy and security. As with any online service, it's wise to be cautious about the personal information you share.

How accurate is DeepSeek?

Its accuracy depends on the task. For coding and technical reasoning, it appears to be quite accurate and reliable. However, in my testing, its ability to accurately pull information from a user-provided knowledge base was poor. It also struggled with accurately meeting content length requirements for blog posts.

What is DeepSeek R1?

DeepSeek has different versions or models of its AI. "R1" likely refers to a specific release or version of the model. Different versions may have different strengths, capabilities, or training data. Currently, the most prominent model available is DeepSeek-V2.