A practical comparison of the four most popular AI tools for business: how ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Microsoft Copilot differ, when to use each, and what they cost.
ChatGPT (OpenAI), Claude (Anthropic), Gemini (Google) and Microsoft Copilot all write text, analyse data, answer questions and help solve problems. But they are not the same.
Strengths: Largest user community - most templates and prompt libraries available; best third-party integrations; GPT-4o can process images, audio and documents; broadest Custom GPT ecosystem.
Weaknesses: Can produce convincing but incorrect facts; weaker data security controls than Claude; smaller context window than Claude.
Price: Free / ChatGPT Plus €20/month / ChatGPT Team €25/user/month
Best for: Content creation, product descriptions, marketing, coding.
Strengths: Largest context window - can effectively "read" an entire book or large report; highest data security standards on paid plans; fewer factual errors - tends to acknowledge what it doesn't know; excellent for long documents - contracts, technical specs.
Weaknesses: Smaller integrations ecosystem; no image generation.
Price: Free / Claude Pro €18/month / Claude Team €25/user/month
Best for: Contract analysis, long document processing, customer service, sensitive work areas.
Strengths: Deep integration with Google Workspace (Gmail, Docs, Sheets, Meet); real-time web search; strong multimodality - works with images, documents, video.
Weaknesses: Smaller agentic capabilities ecosystem; can be overly cautious.
Price: Free / Gemini Advanced €20/month
Best for: Organisations already using Google Workspace; real-time information retrieval; visual and multimedia content.
Strengths: Deep integration with Microsoft 365 (Word, Excel, Outlook, Teams, PowerPoint). Works directly inside your documents, emails and data with enterprise-grade data protection. A natural fit for organisations already running Office.
Weaknesses: The real value only lands with a Microsoft 365 subscription; outside that ecosystem it is limited. Higher per-user cost.
Price: From €28/user/month (Microsoft 365 Copilot, requires an eligible Microsoft 365 subscription)
Best for: Companies deeply embedded in the Microsoft 365 ecosystem; reports, Excel analysis, email drafting and meeting summaries.
Criterion ChatGPT Claude Gemini Copilot
Text creation ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ⭐⭐⭐⭐ ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Long documents ⭐⭐⭐ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ⭐⭐⭐⭐ ⭐⭐⭐
Data security ⭐⭐⭐ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ⭐⭐⭐⭐ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Google Workspace ⭐⭐ ⭐⭐ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ⭐⭐
Microsoft 365 ⭐⭐ ⭐⭐ ⭐⭐ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Third-party integrations ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ⭐⭐⭐ ⭐⭐⭐ ⭐⭐⭐
Choose ChatGPT if: Content speed matters most; you work in marketing; you want the broadest integrations.
Choose Claude if: You work with confidential documents; you analyse long contracts or reports; data security is a priority.
Choose Gemini if: Your organisation already uses Google Workspace; you need real-time information; you work with visual or multimedia files.
Choose Copilot if: Your organisation runs on Microsoft 365; you want AI working directly inside Word, Excel, Outlook and Teams; you need enterprise data protection.
You don't have to pick just one - many successful organisations use 2–3 tools for different purposes. Book a free consultation and we'll work out what fits your specific business.