ChatGPT
The default AI assistant. Chat, voice, pictures, files, and Codex on paid plans.
Use it if
- You want one app that does chat, pictures, voice and files
- You want the most help available online when you get stuck
- You might want a coding agent later without a second bill
Skip it if
- Your life is in Gmail and Google Docs, where Gemini can see more
- You mostly write and want the plainest prose, where Claude edges it
- You want the model running on your own machine
ChatGPT is where most people meet AI, and it is still a sensible place to start. One app on your phone and computer that answers questions, reads what you show it, talks out loud, draws pictures, and reads your PDFs.
What it actually does
Everything on what AI can do for you today, and the first ten minutes page walks through it. Pictures are the thing people miss: the same box that answers questions will draw a birthday card if you ask.
What the paid plan adds
Better models, more goes per day, and Codex, a coding agent that works on your real files. That last one is why I keep paying: the agent work and the chat come off one bill. Is ChatGPT Plus worth it? puts Free, Go and Plus side by side if you are deciding whether to pay.
Where I stand on it
I use it daily, mostly for images and for Codex. For writing I reach for Claude first. That is a preference, not a verdict; the two are closer than the arguments online suggest, and which AI should you use is the honest comparison.
Honest limitations
It is confident when it is guessing, like all of them: the two-minute check applies. Memory and personalisation are on by default and worth looking at once. And what a plan includes changes often enough that any price here would be wrong within months.
Next step
Do the first ten minutes. Then tell it who you are.
