Which AI assistant should you use?

Six assistants, and what each one is for

The gap between these tools is narrower than the marketing suggests, and it shifts every few months. What follows is where each one tends to earn its keep. Plans and limits change often, so do check the provider's own pages, and give any tool a fortnight on your real work before you commit.

Claude

Anthropic

Writing and long documents

Where it shines: Careful, well-structured long-form writing, and reasoning that holds up across documents of real length. It tends to show its working and say when it is unsure.
Worth knowing: Usage limits bite on the cheaper plans. Like all of these, it still needs checking on anything specific.
Pick it if: You draft, edit or analyse substantial documents and would rather have considered output than fast output.

ChatGPT

OpenAI

A broad, general-purpose assistant

Where it shines: The widest feature set in one place: image generation, voice, data analysis and custom assistants. The largest community too, so there is a guide for almost anything you want to try.
Worth knowing: Features and model names change often and differ by plan, which makes it hard to know what you are actually using. It sounds equally confident whether it is right or wrong.
Pick it if: You want one familiar tool covering a lot of ground, and breadth matters more to you than depth.

Gemini

Google

Google Workspace teams

Where it shines: Sits close to Gmail, Docs and Drive, copes with very long inputs, and moves between text, images and video in one conversation.
Worth knowing: Most of its advantage depends on your work already living in Google services. Worth a look at the privacy and activity settings before you start.
Pick it if: Your organisation runs on Google Workspace and you want help inside the tools people already have open.

Microsoft Copilot

Microsoft

Microsoft 365 organisations

Where it shines: Works inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams, and can draw on your organisation's own files. Proper admin controls, which your IT team will care about.
Worth knowing: The useful version needs the right licence on top of your existing subscription, and results depend heavily on how well your files and permissions are organised. Messy SharePoint, messy answers.
Pick it if: You already pay for Microsoft 365 and most of the work happens in those apps.

Perplexity

Perplexity AI

Research with sources

Where it shines: Answers arrive with links to the pages used, so checking and following up takes seconds rather than a separate search.
Worth knowing: A citation proves a page was read, not that it was read correctly. Open the sources for anything that matters.
Pick it if: You mainly want a faster, better-organised way to search than a page of results.

Mistral Vibe

Mistral AI, formerly Le Chat

Keeping data in Europe

Where it shines: A European alternative to the American tools, and the only one here where enterprise customers can run it on their own servers or chosen datacentre with full control over where data sits. Connects to a wide range of business tools and handles repeatable multi-step jobs with approval points along the way.
Worth knowing: That data residency control comes with the enterprise tier, not the free or Pro plans, so check what your plan actually covers. It was renamed from Le Chat during 2026, so older write-ups use the previous name. The community and add-on ecosystem is smaller than the big three.
Pick it if: Where your data physically lives matters, perhaps because of your sector or your clients, or you want routine multi-step work handled without building anything custom.

Common questions

If you only do one thing, do this: pick two, use them for a fortnight of real work, and keep whichever one you reach for without thinking about it.

Which is best for long documents?

Claude and Gemini both handle long documents well. Test each with a real document from your own work before committing, because results vary a lot by document type.

Which is best for research with sources?

Perplexity is built around cited answers, which makes checking sources quick. Open the cited pages yourself for anything that matters, because a summary can still misread its source.

Which works best with Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace?

Microsoft Copilot suits Microsoft 365 teams and Gemini suits Google Workspace teams, because each works inside the apps people already have open.

Is the most popular one the best one?

Not necessarily. ChatGPT holds the largest share of general assistant use, but share reflects reach and familiarity rather than fit. Plenty of teams get more from a tool further down that chart because it matches how they actually work.

How should I handle confidential client data?

Check the tool's data settings and your plan's terms before pasting anything confidential. Business and enterprise plans usually offer stronger controls than free plans, including turning off training on your data.

Does it matter where my data is stored?

It can, if you work in a regulated sector or your clients ask where their information goes. Most of these tools process data in the United States. Mistral Vibe is the option here that lets enterprise customers control where data sits, though on its enterprise tier rather than the standard plans. Settle this before rolling a tool out rather than after.

Do I need to pay?

Start on the free tiers. Paid plans mainly buy higher limits, better models and stronger data controls, which matter most if you use the tool daily or handle client information.

What we do

BIL Technologies builds cloud software, reporting and search visibility for small and medium-sized businesses, and helps them put AI to work without the guesswork.

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A selection of the organisations and products we have worked with over the years.

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