Tool Comparison
A reference card, not a lesson. Keep it open while deciding which AI assistant fits a task. All four handle everyday knowledge work well — status reports, summarising a policy document, tidying a stakeholder email. What matters here is privacy, accuracy, ease of use, file handling, and cost.
Facts were checked against official vendor pages on 30 May 2026. These products change fast, so confirm today's price on the vendor's own page before buying. Model training means whether the company may use your chats to teach future versions — the privacy lever that matters most at work.
At a Glance
| Dimension | Claude | ChatGPT | Gemini | Microsoft 365 Copilot |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maker | Anthropic | OpenAI | Microsoft | |
| Free version | Yes | Yes | Yes | Free "Copilot Chat" for eligible business accounts; full Copilot is paid |
| Home turf | Long-document analysis, careful writing | Broad all-rounder, images | Google Workspace | Microsoft 365 |
| Files | Upload, read, create | Upload, data analysis, images | Reads Drive, Gmail, Docs | Files in Microsoft 365 |
| Entry paid price | About US$17–20/month | Around US$20/month for Plus, plus a lower-cost "Go" tier | Paid Google AI plans add storage and higher limits | About US$20–21/user/month, usually via IT |
Privacy — Read This First
The biggest office question: could my draft, my numbers, or a client's name end up training someone's AI?
| Tool | Consumer default | How to lock it down |
|---|---|---|
| Claude | You pick a training preference at sign-up, changeable anytime | Set model-improvement off; Team/Enterprise don't train on content by default |
| ChatGPT | Consumer chats may train models unless you opt out | Data Controls, "Improve the model for everyone" off; Business/Enterprise excluded by default |
| Gemini | Activity may be human-reviewed and used to improve Google AI unless turned off | Turn off Gemini Apps Activity; Workspace business has its own protections |
| Copilot | Built around business accounts | Tenant data isn't used to train foundation models by default |
Every tool lets you avoid having your work train models — usually a choice on free tiers, the default on paid business tiers. When in doubt, keep confidential material out of consumer chatbots; see the Governance Quick Reference.
Accuracy — All Can Be Confidently Wrong
No tool here is a source of truth. All four can produce a hallucination — a fluent, plausible answer that is simply made up (a fake statistic, an invented citation). Treat every factual claim as a draft to check.
| Where each tends to shine | Tool |
|---|---|
| Nuanced reading of long contracts, reports, policy text | Claude |
| Live web facts ("what's the latest on…") | Gemini, ChatGPT |
| Grounding answers in your emails and files | Copilot |
| General versatility most colleagues have tried | ChatGPT |
Practical rule for any tool: ask it to quote the source line or show its working. If it can point at the exact sentence in your uploaded document, trust it more; if not, verify before sending. See the Troubleshooting Guide when an answer looks off.
Ease of Use
| Tool | Easiest if you… |
|---|---|
| Claude | Want a clean, calm window for writing and analysis |
| ChatGPT | Want the most-documented tool with the most colleagues to ask |
| Gemini | Live in Gmail and Google Docs all day |
| Copilot | Live in Word, Excel, Outlook, and Teams |
All four are built for non-technical people in a browser: type a request in plain English, read a plain-English answer. Nothing to install.
File Handling
| Task | Claude | ChatGPT | Gemini | Copilot |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Upload a PDF/Word/Excel and ask about it | Yes | Yes | Yes (and from Drive) | Files in your tenant |
| Summarise a long report in one go | Strong | Strong | Strong | Strong |
| Pull numbers from a spreadsheet | Yes | Yes | Yes (Sheets) | Yes (Excel) |
| Create a file to download | Yes | Yes | Saves into Google tools | Edits in place |
If your work lives in Google Workspace, Gemini saves the upload step; in Microsoft 365, Copilot does. For scattered documents, a standalone chatbot (Claude or ChatGPT) with manual uploads is often simplest.
Cost
Anchor on the shape of pricing, not the exact number.
| Tier | What you typically get | Who it suits |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Real, useful access with lower daily limits | First-time AI users |
| Individual paid (~US$20/month) | Higher limits, better models, file features | People using AI most working days |
| Higher personal tiers | Much larger limits and early features, at a premium | Heavy daily users |
| Business / per-seat | Privacy-by-default and admin controls; bought by IT | Teams, regulated workplaces |
Start free. Pay only once you hit free limits or need a specific feature (more file analysis, the strongest model, or business-grade privacy).
Quick Picker
Work lives in Gmail / Docs / Sheets -> Gemini
Work lives in Word / Excel / Outlook -> Microsoft 365 Copilot
Want the careful long-document reader -> Claude
Want the familiar all-rounder -> ChatGPT
Just want to try one free today -> any of them