If you thought the AI news in 2024 was overwhelming, get ready for 2025. The first few months have already outpaced last year, with DeepSeek—a Chinese startup—emerging as a strong competitor to major AI models like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini.
This blog explores DeepSeek’s innovative approach, its impact on the AI market, and what businesses should know before adopting it.
What is DeepSeek and How Does It Work?
DeepSeek, founded in July 2023, launched its first model, DeepSeek-R1, in January 2025. Designed to tackle advanced reasoning tasks, it offers a performance level similar to OpenAI’s o1 model, but at a fraction of the cost. The open-source model allows for customisation, making it particularly appealing to developers and researchers who want to build upon it.
Key Features:
- Mixture of Experts (MoE): This approach divides the model into sub-networks or "experts," making it more efficient and resource-friendly during training.
- Reinforcement Learning (RL): DeepSeek uses RL to enhance its reasoning abilities. The model learns through trial and error, improving without relying on supervised datasets.
DeepSeek stands out by offering an efficient, cost-effective solution for businesses, especially those needing specialised technical applications, such as coding and natural language processing (NLP).
Comparing DeepSeek with Other AI Models
AI models like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Anthropic’s Claude, and Google’s Gemini dominate the market. Below, we compare DeepSeek’s capabilities with these popular models, based on the latest information available at the time of writing:
|
Criteria |
DeepSeek |
ChatGPT |
Gemini |
Claude |
|
Primary Focus |
Code generation, technical tasks, and NLP (Natural language Processing). Cost-effective and customisable. |
General AI, conversation, and coding. Strong conversational skills and good for creative content. |
Multimodal AI, deeply integrated with Google. Designed for a wide range of tasks. |
Safety-focused, with human-like conversations and ethical responses. Good for summarisation, writing, coding, and research. |
|
Latest Model |
DeepSeek-R1 (2025) |
GPT-4o (2024) OpenAI o3 (2025) |
Gemini 2.0 (2025) |
Claude 3.5 Haiku (2024) Claude 3.7 Sonnet (2025) |
|
Training Data |
Multilingual, strong in Chinese. Trained at a much lower cost. |
Vast web-scale training datasets and multimodal data. |
Multimodal, web-scale data. |
Multiple languages with a focus on safety. |
|
Key Features |
Open-source, image generation, NLP tools. Specialised in coding, maths, and NLP. |
Web browsing, image generation, document analysis, voice interactions. Can be used for customer service and writing assistance. |
Multimodal (text, images, audio, video), with strong integration in Google services. Strong reasoning capabilities. |
Strong privacy measures and ethical design. Designed for complex problem-solving and good image output. |
|
Cost Structure |
Free, open-source. API from $1.10 for 1M tokens output. |
Subscription options:
API from $4.40 for 1M tokens output. |
Free with Google account. Premium plan at $24 a month. API from $0.40 for 1M tokens output (+ paid subscription). |
Subscription options:
API from $4 for 1M tokens output. |
This table highlights the differences in capabilities and pricing, making it easier for businesses to compare their options.
LLM Popularity
In terms of user base, ChatGPT still dominates the market, but DeepSeek did see a sudden increase following the launch of their model in January. The following graph shows average organic traffic for each of the chatbot domains. Although it doesn’t show the full picture, it gives a good idea of each chatbot’s popularity. And it’s clear that DeepSeek seems to have made a small dent in ChatGPT’s and Gemini’s traffic this year. It will be interesting to see how things evolve over time and if users’ interest persists.
Source: Ahrefs
How DeepSeek is Changing the AI Game
Source: Reuters
DeepSeek’s debut has already made waves. Its DeepSeek-R1 model, launched in early 2025, has turned heads in the AI industry by delivering top-tier performance at a significantly lower cost. The reaction from competitors was swift. For example, Nvidia’s stock took a hit as investors grew concerned about DeepSeek’s ability to disrupt the market with its pricing model.
In response, companies like Google and OpenAI have adjusted their strategies. Google introduced Gemini 2.0 Flash to counter DeepSeek, and OpenAI launched the free o3-mini model to maintain a competitive edge. These rapid developments indicate just how much the landscape is shifting as companies scramble to keep up. OpenAI also announced the simplification of their product offering, in a bid to remain attractive to non-tech savvy users.
For businesses, this disruption presents both opportunities and risks. AI models like DeepSeek are enabling new applications, from improving customer service efficiency to offering real-time sentiment analysis at a fraction of the cost of older models. This will likely disrupt the jobs market across most industries and we believe innovations with AI agents will accelerate these changes further. Leaders need to prepare by upskilling their teams and reviewing where they spend time to maintain a competitive advantage.
If you’re interested in learning more about the impact of AI on marketing and business, we recommend listening to the fantastic Artificial Intelligence Show, a podcast run by the Marketing AI Institute.
How DeepSeek Might Affect Your Business?
Source: Statista
Lower Costs
DeepSeek’s pricing model is its most obvious advantage. Although most models can be accessed at a reasonable price or with free options, once you start using AI on a regular basis, costs can skyrocket. Deepseek’s API is 27 times cheaper than ChatGPT's for similar capabilities, making AI more accessible for businesses with tight budgets.
At Innovation Visual, we’ve found that DeepSeek’s lower token costs could reduce our API spending significantly. We regularly set up automations for clients that mix data transfer with AI querying. For example, we recently created a custom automation that scraped high-value social media influencers from the web, based on engagement and brand appeal, and added the data to their CRM. This allowed our client to save hours of research time while being reactive to newcomers in the market.
Although we might use this model for clients, we’re always mindful of data security and never pull any sensitive information into DeepSeek, or any other AI model.
Looking beyond this use case, DeepSeek and OpenAI APIs open the door to a wide range of transformative business applications. From delivering customer service at scale—by automating routine interactions and rapidly handling support queries—to providing real-time sentiment analysis, as well as identifying trends in big datasets. However, these powerful workflows can easily accumulate lots of API calls, especially if you’re frequently updating or querying data, and the associated costs can escalate rapidly. That’s why, DeepSeek’s substantially lower token costs can serve as a smart solution to keep expenses under control without compromising on performance.
Open-Source AI
DeepSeek’s open-source nature allows businesses to customise the model to meet their specific needs. Developers can integrate DeepSeek into existing systems, creating innovative solutions tailored to their industries. This will expand the potential for practical, real-world use cases. We’d expect more tools serving specific niches.
Additionally, running the model on local hardware could address privacy concerns, as all prompts, answers, and any document you might upload online can be harvested by the provider.
Concerns and Controversies
Despite its advantages, DeepSeek has been under heavy scrutiny since its launch.
Data Privacy & Bias
Many are worried about potential ties to the Chinese government and allegations of data privacy issues. Reports suggest that the AI models may adhere to Chinese censorship laws, potentially limiting the scope of information they can process. For example, it might be limiting responses on topics such as the Tiananmen Square massacre or Taiwan’s political status. There are also reports of answers being more favourable to China, even after the censorship rules have been removed. Additionally, there are concerns about hidden code within the models that could transmit user data to Chinese entities, raising significant privacy and security issues. As a response, Australia banned the use of DeepSeek on government devices when South Korea removed it from app stores altogether. In fact, South Korea recently accused DeepSeek of sharing their user data with the owner of TikTok in China, reinforcing their decision to ban it.
Source: Wired
Questionable Cost Claims
Further questions have been raised about the actual cost of developing DeepSeek's AI models. While the company claims to have developed its models at a fraction of the cost of Western counterparts, some industry experts view these claims with scepticism. For example, Google Deepmind CEO suggested that the true costs may be higher than reported. The USA is also investigating allegations that DeepSeek bypassed restrictions on US chip exports by acquiring older chips via Singapore. However, Nvidia confirmed the chips used by DeepSeek were fully compliant.
Potential Data Theft
Finally, OpenAI has expressed concerns regarding DeepSeek's R1 model, alleging that it may have utilised OpenAI's technology through a process known as "distillation." This technique involves training a smaller AI model using the outputs of a larger one, potentially infringing on OpenAI's terms of service. OpenAI is reportedly investigating this matter.
Should Your Business Use DeepSeek?
There’s no doubt that DeepSeek is shaking up the AI market. Its affordability and customisability make it a powerful tool for businesses, but it's important to consider the associated risks. Concerns around data privacy and potential censorship are valid and should not be ignored. Whichever model you use, avoid uploading any sensitive information as a rule.
In the end, DeepSeek offers businesses a cost-effective AI solution. But as with any technology, it's essential to stay informed and cautious, particularly when handling sensitive data.
How Are You Using AI in Your Business?
DeepSeek's rapid development and competitive offerings have undeniably disrupted the AI landscape, prompting both innovation and concern. Leaders need to balance the benefits of cost-effectiveness and customisation with the imperative of protecting their data – using DeepSeek or any other LLM. AI is changing at a dizzying pace and those who can adapt and leverage it stand to gain a significant edge in the market.
As a leader, we know it’s impossible to keep up with these changes while staying on top of your own industry’s movements. However, you cannot ignore the impact AI will have on your business and you need to prepare if you want to remain in the game.
At Innovation Visual, we use technology to grow our clients’ revenue. We harness the power of AI and automation to craft innovative ways in which you can reach your audience and drive revenue while protecting data privacy. Contact us to see how technology can be used to fuel creative marketing campaigns for your business.
