You hear these names everywhere: Claude, ChatGPT, Mistral, Kimi. But what exactly are they, and what sets them apart? Here's a simple map, jargon-free.
First things first: what's a "model"?
A model is the AI's engine. The brain that reads your request and writes an answer. Like a car engine: you don't see it, but it's what makes the machine go.
An app (a chatbot, an agent) uses a model to run. The model alone does nothing by itself: you need something around it to connect it to your tools and your work.
Two big questions distinguish models:
- Open or closed? An open (open-source) model is public: you can install it wherever you want, run it yourself. A closed model belongs to a company that keeps it on its own servers.
- Hosted where? In the United States? In Europe? On your own machines? That changes a lot for your data.
The map of the big models
Here are the four names you hear most often.
| Model | Who makes it | Open / Closed | Hosted | Shines at… |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude | Anthropic (US) | Closed | United States | polished writing, reasoning, code |
| ChatGPT | OpenAI (US) | Closed | United States | versatility, mainstream use |
| Mistral | Mistral AI (France) | Open and closed depending on version | Europe | the European option, speed |
| Kimi | Moonshot AI | Open | open-source (installable anywhere) | long documents, cost control |
None of them is "the best" in absolute terms. Each has its strengths. The right choice depends on what you do with it and where you want your data to live.
Why an open, European model makes a good default
For a small French business, two criteria matter more than the performance race: cost and data.
An open model belongs to no one exclusively. As a result, it can run on European servers, without depending on a single American provider that sets prices however it pleases. Cost becomes predictable.
Hosting in Europe keeps you within GDPR, the regulation that protects personal data. Your exchanges and your clients' don't cross the Atlantic for no reason.
The most powerful model is useless if it costs you a fortune and hosts your data on the other side of the world.
That's why at chyll, AI is included and runs on an open model, hosted in Europe. Cost under control, data within GDPR, and no API key to manage on your end: the engine is our business, not yours.
What to take away
A model is the engine. It never acts alone: what counts is what's built around it to put it to work. Claude and ChatGPT shine but remain closed and American. Mistral and Kimi open the door to European solutions that are predictable and respectful of your data.
You don't have to choose your model the way you choose a religion. Think of it as an energy supplier: what you care about is that it's reliable, affordable, and in the right place.