Gemini
Google's assistant, tied into Workspace, Search and Veo video
Gemini lives inside Gmail, Docs, Drive and Android, which is its real advantage: it can read your own files and mail. The Google AI Pro plan adds the…
Microsoft Copilot
Microsoft's assistant inside Windows, Edge and Office
Copilot is the AI built into Windows, Edge, Word, Excel and Teams. The free consumer version is a capable chatbot; the paid versions matter when you want it to draft in Word, summarise Teams meetings or build Excel formulas from your own data.
Best for: Office and Teams users
What works
- Works inside the Office apps you already use
- Enterprise data protection on business plans
- Free tier needs no sign-up
What to know
- Business licence requires a qualifying Microsoft 365 plan
- Consumer plan lineup has changed repeatedly
Alternatives
ChatGPT
OpenAI's flagship assistant for chat, images, code and research
The default AI assistant for most people. It handles writing, coding, image generation, file analysis and web-grounded answers in one chat. The Free…
Claude
Anthropic's assistant, strong at long documents and careful writing
Claude is the assistant many writers and developers reach for when tone and nuance matter. It works well with long documents, keeps a steady voice…
