I challenged ChatGPT and Gemini to find NYC’s best eats under $100 — here’s the winner (and how to try it in your city)

I recently put two artificial intelligences, ChatGPT and Gemini, to the test to find the best affordable dining options in New York City for a $100 budget. Here's how they performed.

ChatGPT's approach involved receiving a specific prompt, which instructed it to find seven cheap restaurants across the five boroughs, focusing on filling meals. The AI provided a list of dishes, including Chinese roast pork in Chinatown, a Caribbean-style plate in The Bronx, and Sri Lankan kottu roti in Queens. Each spot had an estimated price, and ChatGPT even included a map of the locations. The total cost for ChatGPT's selections came to within the $100 budget.

Gemini, on the other hand, followed a similar approach but did not include a map. Instead, it provided a chart with each location, the train or ferry route to get there, a recommended dish, and its estimated price. Gemini's picks included Wah Fung No. 1 Fast Food in Manhattan, Shu Jiao Fu Zhou in Manhattan, A&A Bake & Doubles in Brooklyn, L&B Spumoni Gardens in Brooklyn, and two other spots.

The total cost for Gemini's selections also stayed within the $100 budget. Both AI chatbots successfully found affordable, filling meals in NYC under $100.