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How to choose an AI assistant: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and more

A plain-English way to pick between ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Copilot, Perplexity and Meta AI: start free, match the tool to your main job, and only pay when you hit a limit.

8 min · Updated September 25, 2026 · Tools: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, Perplexity, Meta AI

  1. 1Write down your main job. List the two or three things you'd use an assistant for most: writing, research with sources, coding, working inside Office or Google apps, or quick answers on your phone.
  2. 2Start with the free plans. ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, Perplexity and Meta AI all have free versions. Try the same real task in two or three of them.
  3. 3Match the tool to the job. Pick the one that did your main task best. Use the matches below as a starting point, not a ranking.
  4. 4Check where your work already lives. If you live in Microsoft 365 or Google's apps, the assistant built into those tools may save the most time.
  5. 5Only pay when you hit a limit. Upgrade when you regularly run into usage limits or need a feature only paid plans have. Most individual paid plans cost about $20 a month.
  6. 6Review your privacy settings. Before sharing personal or work information, check whether your chats can be used to train the model and how to turn that off.

There are now half a dozen strong AI assistants, and they overlap a lot. The good news: you don't need to pick the "best" one. You need the one that fits what you actually do, and you can test them all for free.

Quick matches

These are starting points based on what each maker offers, not a ranking. Details and prices are in our AI assistants comparison.

If you mainly want to... Try
Do a bit of everything, including images and voice ChatGPT
Write, analyze long documents or code Claude
Work inside Google's apps and Android Gemini
Work inside Word, Excel, Outlook and Windows Microsoft Copilot
Get answers with sources you can click Perplexity
Use AI inside WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook Meta AI

What paying gets you

Free plans are genuinely useful. Paid plans, which mostly cost around $20 a month for individuals, generally add higher usage limits, access to the most capable models and extra features like deeper research or agents. Some makers also have cheaper tiers, such as ChatGPT Go at $8 a month.

Check each official pricing page before you buy: prices and plans change often.

Two things to know before you commit

  • They can be wrong. Every assistant can state false things confidently. Learn why in our explainer on AI hallucinations, and double-check anything important.
  • Your data may train the model. Some assistants can use consumer chats to improve their models unless you turn it off. See our guide to keeping your data private in AI chatbots.

New to the terms? Start with what a large language model is.

Quick questions

Which AI assistant is the best?

There's no single best one. They overlap heavily, so the right pick depends on your main task and which apps you already use. Try two or three free plans on the same real task.

Is ChatGPT free?

Yes, ChatGPT has a free plan. Paid plans start at $8 a month (Go), with Plus at $20 and Pro from $100, according to OpenAI's pricing page.

Do I need to pay for an AI assistant?

Not to start. Every major assistant has a free version. Paying mostly buys higher usage limits and access to more advanced models and features.

Which AI assistant shows its sources?

Perplexity is built around answers with inline citations to web sources. Other assistants can search the web too, but always check the sources yourself.

Sources

Settings and prices change. We check guides against these sources and update the date above when we do.