Home Chatbots Which AI chatbot should I use? Not sure which AI chatbot to use? Here's the plain-English version. Pick the one that fits how you already work, then follow our free step-by-step guide.
ChatGPT (by OpenAI)
Best at everyday help with almost anything: writing, brainstorming, explaining, images and voice chat.
Try it for "Turn these notes into a friendly email to my team."
Pick it if you want one easy tool that does a bit of everything, with the most tutorials out there. Free beginner guide → Gemini (by Google)
Best at working inside Google: Gmail, Docs, Drive and fresh answers from Search.
Try it for "Find last month's invoice in my Drive and summarize it."
Pick it if your day already runs on Gmail, Google Docs or an Android phone. Free beginner guide → Claude (by Anthropic)
Best at careful writing and long documents. Hand it a report or contract and get a clear summary or rewrite.
Try it for "Read this 30-page contract and list anything I should worry about."
Pick it if you work with long documents or want polished, thoughtful answers. Free beginner guide → Grok (by xAI)
Best at what's happening right now. It reads live posts on X for breaking news and trends.
Try it for "What are people saying about today's big tech news?"
Pick it if you follow news, markets or trends and like a casual, direct tone. Free beginner guide → Microsoft Copilot (by Microsoft)
Best at helping inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook (with a paid plan), plus free chat on the web, in apps and in Edge.
Try it for "Look at my budget in Excel and tell me where I spent the most money."
Pick it if you use Windows or Microsoft Office every day and want AI right where you work. Free beginner guide → Perplexity (by Perplexity AI)
Best at searching the web and giving a written answer with sources you can click and check.
Try it for "I need a laptop for college under $700. Give me 3 picks and the trade-offs."
Pick it if you want answers you can fact-check yourself, not just take the AI's word for it. Free beginner guide → Meta AI (by Meta)
Best at quick help and image making inside WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger and Facebook, where you already chat.
Try it for "What are fun free things to do in Chicago this weekend with a 10-year-old?"
Pick it if you spend your day in Meta's apps and want free AI without downloading anything new. Free beginner guide → DeepSeek (by DeepSeek)
Best at free chat that's strong at math, reasoning and code, with no paid chat plan to buy.
Try it for "Explain step by step how to solve this algebra problem: 3x + 7 = 22."
Pick it if you want a capable free chatbot and don't mind keeping private info out of it, since it stores data in China. Free beginner guide → Midjourney (by Midjourney)
Best at making beautiful, art-quality images in a style you choose, and turning them into short videos.
Try it for "A cozy coffee shop on a rainy evening, warm lights, watercolor style."
Pick it if you care most about how your images look and don't mind paying, from $10 a month with no free plan. Free beginner guide → Want AI that does the work for you, not just chats? Meet personal AI agents →
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ChatGPT (by OpenAI)
