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Which AI should you use? ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Copilot

They are closer than the arguments suggest. Here is what each one is actually better at, which one to pick if you only want one, and why I pay for two.

By Nick

2 min read

AI Basics Beginner
On this page

People spend a long time choosing and almost no time using. The four big ones all do the same core things well: explain, write, summarise, look at photos, talk out loud. The differences are at the edges.

The edges, honestly

ChatGPT. The one everyone has heard of, so the one with the most help online. Makes pictures on the free plan. Its paid plan also includes Codex, a coding agent, which matters if you ever want to go further. A coding agent is a different kind of thing from a chat window: what an AI agent is explains the gap.

Claude. The best writer of the four to my ear: less padding, more willing to say “I am not sure”. Does not make pictures. Its paid plan includes Claude Code, which is what built this site.

Gemini. Lives inside Google. If your life is in Gmail, Docs and Google Photos, it can see all of that, which no other app can. Makes pictures. Good free tier.

Copilot. Microsoft’s. Same idea inside Windows, Word and Outlook. Fine, and the right pick if work gives it to you and bans the others.

If you only want one

Pick by where your stuff already is. Gmail person: Gemini. Office person: Copilot. Neither, and you want pictures: ChatGPT. Neither, and you mostly write: Claude.

Then use it for a week before you read another comparison, including this one.

Ask it to compare itself

Paste this into whichever one you are trying. It is more honest about the others than you would expect.

In five short bullet points, tell me what you are genuinely weaker at than the other main
AI assistants, and what a person should use instead for those things. No marketing.
Example reply (trimmed). Your app will word it differently.

Asked Claude, plus the prompt above

  • Pictures. I can’t make them. Use ChatGPT or Gemini.
  • Your Google stuff. I can’t see your Gmail or Photos the way Gemini can.
  • Very recent news. I can be out of date. Check a news site.
  • Office files. Copilot sits inside Word and Outlook, which I don’t.
  • Sounding sure. I can still be wrong, so check dates and numbers.

If it only lists strengths, that is your answer about that one.

Common questions

Is the free version enough?

For most people, for months. You pay when you keep hitting the daily limit or when you want the slower, more careful models for real work.

Can I move between them?

Yes, nothing locks you in. Your chats do not move, but your habits do, and the habits are the valuable part.

What do you use?

Claude for writing and for code, including this site, and ChatGPT because its plan also covers Codex and image generation. My setup page has the honest version with the costs.

What to do next

  • Guides

    Your first ten minutes with ChatGPT

    Download it, skip the tour, and do four things that show you what it is actually for. Ten minutes, no card, and you will know whether it is for you.

    2 min read

  • Learn

    Which model should I use? The one-page answer

    ChatGPT and Claude both have a model menu and neither explains it. The only distinction that matters day to day, and the three-line rule I use to pick.

    2 min read

Related reading

  • Setups

    My current AI setup

    The exact set of tools I use day to day, what each one is for, and what changed when I stopped writing this page from memory and actually checked.

    5 min read

  • Tools

    Claude Code: what it is and whether you need it

    An AI coding assistant that works in your terminal and inside your real project files, rather than in a chat window you copy and paste from.

    2 min read

  • Tools

    Codex: OpenAI's coding agent in your terminal

    OpenAI's coding agent. It works in your terminal on your real project files, and the models behind it can be pointed at other tools that need one.

    2 min read

  • Learn

    Six more AI tools worth knowing about

    Canva, Microsoft Copilot, Descript, Gemini, LM Studio and NotebookLM: what each one is, who it suits and what it costs. Orientation, not reviews.

    3 min read

Last reviewed 9 October 2026 by Nick.

Software changes fast. If something here is out of date, tell me and I'll fix it.

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