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Five free AI assistants worth trying, and what each does best

ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Copilot and Perplexity all have free plans. Here is what each one is best at, so you can pick the right one for the job.

By Published 1 min read
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Key points

  • All five assistants offer a free plan with usage limits.
  • They overlap a lot, but each has a clear strength.
  • Perplexity is built around answers with cited sources.
  • Gemini and Copilot are built into Google and Microsoft products you may already use.

There are more AI assistants than anyone needs, and the free plans are good enough for most everyday tasks. These five are the most widely used. They overlap heavily, so the useful question is not which is best, but which is best for what you are doing right now.

ChatGPT

The most widely used assistant and a strong all-rounder for writing, brainstorming, explaining and general questions.

Claude

Popular for long documents, careful writing and coding help. A good choice when you need to work through a long report or contract.

Gemini

Google's assistant, connected to Google's own apps. Useful if your email, documents and calendar already live in Google.

Microsoft Copilot

Microsoft's assistant, built into Windows and the Edge browser. Convenient if you spend your day in Microsoft products.

Perplexity

An answer engine rather than a chatbot. It searches the web and shows sources next to its answers, which makes checking claims easier.

How to choose

Pick one real task you do every week and run it through two or three of these. Compare the answers you would actually use. Most people end up with one general assistant and one research tool.

If privacy matters for a task, remember that every assistant here runs in the cloud. Our on-device vs cloud AI guide explains when to keep the work on your own phone instead. And if you want an assistant that takes actions rather than just answering, read what an AI agent actually does.

Frequently asked questions

Which free AI assistant is the best?

There is no single best one. Most people get more from trying two or three on the same real task and keeping the one whose answers they trust most for that kind of work.

Do free plans use my chats for training?

Policies differ by provider and change over time. Check each one's privacy settings, where you can often turn off training on your conversations.

The AI Tools This Week Desk writes and edits every article, checks claims against primary sources and updates stories when the facts change.

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