What is DeepSeek and How to Use It
Palina Zabela
Content Manager, Octo Browser
The release of the latest version of DeepSeek AI has the whole online world talking. How did a Chinese company manage to create a chatbot that is many times cheaper than its competitors? What makes its operational principles unique? Is it really more effective than ChatGPT? And how can you use it to make money in affiliate marketing? You’ll find all the answers in this article.
Contents
What is DeepSeek
DeepSeek Starting Page
DeepSeek is a free chatbot created in China. It is powered by artificial intelligence and performs all the same functions as ChatGPT: e.g., generating texts, writing code, answering questions, and solving tasks.
The chatbot gained significant fame after the release of its latest version, the R1 reasoning model. Instead of simply mindlessly responding to user prompts, this model reasons and solves problems step by step. In simple terms, it multiplies ten-digit numbers using the column method as a human would, rather than instantly like a calculator. The key advantage of this AI model is more accurate calculations and the absence of hallucinations caused by overly long prompts, an issue seen in previous versions.
However, DeepSeek is not the first company to create a reasoning model. Its real breakthrough was making the chatbot 15 times cheaper than its competitors. While OpenAI spent $100 million on ChatGPT, DeepSeek cost its creators just $6 million. According to the company, this was achieved by using cheaper and simpler chips. Additionally, the Chinese AI consumes less computing power because it:
The chatbot gained significant fame after the release of its latest version, the R1 reasoning model. Instead of simply mindlessly responding to user prompts, this model reasons and solves problems step by step. In simple terms, it multiplies ten-digit numbers using the column method as a human would, rather than instantly like a calculator. The key advantage of this AI model is more accurate calculations and the absence of hallucinations caused by overly long prompts, an issue seen in previous versions.
However, DeepSeek is not the first company to create a reasoning model. Its real breakthrough was making the chatbot 15 times cheaper than its competitors. While OpenAI spent $100 million on ChatGPT, DeepSeek cost its creators just $6 million. According to the company, this was achieved by using cheaper and simpler chips. Additionally, the Chinese AI consumes less computing power because it:
- Stores 8 digits after the decimal point instead of 32, saving 75% of memory;
- Reads entire phrases instead of words, making processing twice as fast while maintaining 90% accuracy;
- Distributes prompts among “expert” neural networks dedicated to specific domains, activating only 37 billion out of its 671 billion parameters for each response.
Who is behind DeepSeek
DeepSeek was developed by Hangzhou DeepSeek Artificial Intelligence Co., Ltd., a Chinese company founded in 2023 by Liang Wenfeng, a graduate of Zhejiang University specializing in electronic information engineering and computer science. He is also the head of High-Flyer, China’s first quantitative trading hedge fund, established in 2019. The fund analyzes financial data using neural networks to determine investment opportunities.
The exact relationship between Liang Wenfeng’s projects is unclear. According to the man himself, High-Flyer invested in DeepSeek and even provided its first employees. Both companies share the same office building. High-Flyer’s 2022 WeChat post claimed they managed a cluster of 10,000 A100 chips. Since such chips can no longer be sold in China, it is possible that DeepSeek was trained using High-Flyer’s computational resources.
The exact relationship between Liang Wenfeng’s projects is unclear. According to the man himself, High-Flyer invested in DeepSeek and even provided its first employees. Both companies share the same office building. High-Flyer’s 2022 WeChat post claimed they managed a cluster of 10,000 A100 chips. Since such chips can no longer be sold in China, it is possible that DeepSeek was trained using High-Flyer’s computational resources.
What Can DeepSeek Do
DeepSeek functions as an AI-powered chatbot and can process up to 128,000 tokens in a single prompt, equivalent to about 300 pages. For users, interacting with the Chinese app feels very similar to ChatGPT or Gemini: you send a prompt and receive a text response. You can also attach images or documents.
DeepSeek can:
DeepSeek can:
- Answer questions;
- Provide advice;
- Search for online information;
- Generate texts of various genres and lengths;
- Translate;
- Come up with creative ideas;
- Write and format code;
- Solve problems;
- Make predictions and simulations;
- Entertain users.
When answering a prompt, DeepSeek generates text without using external sources; this means responses aren’t always meaningful. However, switching to Search or DeepThink modes will provide you with more informative answers. DeepSeek can also explain its reasoning, but these advanced modes slow down response times.
The main limitation of DeepSeek stems from its country of origin. The chatbot does not answer questions about China’s domestic politics, such as the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests.
How to Use DeepSeek
You can download DeepSeek from Google Play and App Store. A web version is also available on the official website. The app is free worldwide and can be accessed without a proxy or VPN. However, DeepSeek sometimes temporarily disables new registrations due to massive DDoS attacks. If you don’t see a sign-up option, check back in a few hours.
DeepSeek Web Version Interface
After installing the app, register using an email or Google account. A verification code will be sent to your email.
Once your email is verified, you can start using DeepSeek. Click Start Now. The chatbot understands English, Chinese, and Russian. You can choose between three modes:
Once your email is verified, you can start using DeepSeek. Click Start Now. The chatbot understands English, Chinese, and Russian. You can choose between three modes:
- Standard mode generates text without using external sources.
2. Online Search mode, in which the AI searches the web and provides answers based on the data it’s gathered.
3. DeepThink mode, in which the AI solves tasks step by step.
How DeepSeek Differs from ChatGPT
More than 100 million users are familiar with ChatGPT, making it the most popular chatbot. We compared the capabilities of the new neural network with ChatGPT. Here is how American and Chinese LLMs differ:
- Price. All DeepSeek features are currently free. On the other hand, using features like document analysis and online search in ChatGPT requires a paid subscription.
- Prompt limits. DeepSeek currently has no limits, whereas the free ChatGPT tier imposes such time-based restrictions on its users.
- Open-source code. DeepSeek developers have published their code, allowing users to integrate the neural network into their projects for free.
- Data relevance. Neither chatbot has direct Internet access per se; however, the Chinese neural network’s knowledge is up-to-date as of July 2024, while ChatGPT's knowledge is limited to September 2021.
- Communication style. Conversations with DeepSeek can feel more "human" since the model explains why it generated a specific response.
- Geographical restrictions. ChatGPT is unavailable in Russia, Belarus, North Korea, Iran, and other countries, whereas DeepSeek is accessible worldwide.
- Censorship. DeepSeek was developed in accordance with Chinese laws, so the neural network does not answer questions about the country's internal politics. ChatGPT has no such restrictions.
- Language proficiency. ChatGPT generates English texts better than DeepSeek. While the Eastern chatbot can produce English-language content, its primary language is Chinese.
The main difference between DeepSeek and ChatGPT is accessibility. DeepSeek has no geographical restrictions, operates for free without prompt limits, and offers open source code.
How to Use DeepSeek for Affiliate Marketing
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The neural network can assist affiliates by helping them:
- Find relevant niches. Since DeepSeek is trained on 2024 data, it can suggest promising niches for affiliate marketing where competition is still low.
- Identify effective traffic generation tools. When providing a prompt, specify the niche you’re working in, how much you would like to earn, and what you’ve already done.
- Suggest alternative platforms for promoting products or services. If you’ve chosen a popular niche, the neural network can find new online platforms with lower competition for you. In our example, DeepSeek suggested the social network Lemon8 for advertising pet products.
- Develop an action plan for promoting a specific product on a chosen platform. The neural network can advise on what to focus on when creating accounts on a platform and generate a content plan for the initial phase.
- Create content. DeepSeek can generate social media posts, video scripts, article outlines, or find data for infographics. Specify your target audience, tone of voice, and desired action to receive the most relevant content.
DeepSeek can be used at all stages of affiliate marketing as a virtual assistant, idea generator, copywriter, and data analyst. Interact with the chatbot as you would with a person, provide relevant context, and work step by step to achieve the best results.
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