ChatGLM

ChatGLM (Zhipu Qingyan) is Zhipu AI’s chat assistant, built on Zhipu’s own GLM models. Zhipu grew out of a Tsinghua research group, and its GLM models were among the earliest Chinese LLMs, with regular open-weight releases that have earned it standing among academics and developers.

Beyond chat, the product bundles ready-made agents plus data-analysis and writing tools. An agent here is essentially a pre-configured assistant someone else set up — for a particular kind of writing or a specific subject — which you can pick and use straight away instead of writing prompts from scratch.

It is balanced overall: no standout specialty, no glaring weakness. If you are comparing Chinese models, it deserves a place on the list; if you just want an everyday assistant, it is not necessarily more convenient than Doubao or Kimi.

Key features

• General chat: Q&A, writing, translation and summarising, with even performance across the board.
• Agent hub: A large collection of ready-made specialised assistants, and you can build and share your own.
• Data analysis: Upload a spreadsheet and have it write code to process the data, compute statistics and draw charts.
• Web search: Looks up information online and lists its sources.
• Document reading: Upload PDFs, Word files and similar for summaries and targeted questions.

How to use

1. Go to chatglm.cn, or install the Zhipu Qingyan app.
2. Log in with a phone number or WeChat.
3. Ask a question directly, or upload a file or spreadsheet.
4. Browse the agent hub by category and pick one that fits your task.
5. Developers can get GLM API access through Zhipu’s open platform, or download the open-weight versions.

Best for

• Comparing Chinese models: its balanced profile makes it a useful baseline.
• Simple data analysis: have it handle spreadsheets and charts even if you do not code.
• Ready-made tools: the agent hub has many scenario-specific assistants you can use immediately.
• Academic and study questions: explanations and literature organisation are fairly rigorous.

Strengths and limitations

Strengths

• Balanced capabilities with no obvious weak spot.
• Agents and data-analysis tools out of the box, richer than a chat-only product.
• Open-weight GLM versions exist, and it is directly reachable in mainland China.

Limitations

• No single standout capability, so it is rarely the first choice for any particular task.
• Agent quality varies; expect to try several before finding a good one.
• The free allowance is limited, and heavy use may require paying.