Field guide / continuously reviewed

Meet the main
AI players.

Who made them, what they are brilliant at, what to watch and where to get the official apps. No fan clubs. No model wars. Just the useful differences.

ORBIT / NAVIGATORDifferent personalities. None gets the final say. That remains your job.
First, a useful distinction

The model is the engine. The app is the car.

ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini are products you use. Underneath them sit AI models that change over time. Features, limits and privacy settings can differ by plan, account and platform.

Download from the maker’s official page. Copycat apps occasionally wear convincing little moustaches.
The constellation

Seven assistants.
Seven personalities.

Our summaries focus on everyday use. Follow the official links for current compatibility, regional availability and pricing.

C
OpenAI

ChatGPT

The adaptable all-rounder

Best for
Writing, brainstorming, files, voice and broad everyday help.
Keep an eye on
Its confidence can outrun its evidence. Ask for sources and verify the important bits.
Advanced lens
Strong multimodal tools and a large ecosystem make it a useful default workspace.
A
Anthropic

Claude

The thoughtful collaborator

Best for
Long documents, careful writing, analysis and sustained project work.
Keep an eye on
A polished answer can still contain a mistake. Treat tone as presentation, not proof.
Advanced lens
Large-context work and artefact-style creation suit complex, iterative tasks.
G
Google

Gemini

The connected researcher

Best for
Google services, multimodal questions, planning and information discovery.
Keep an eye on
Connected data is powerful. Review activity and privacy controls before linking services.
Advanced lens
Its strength grows when your workflow already lives in Google’s ecosystem.
M
Microsoft

Copilot

The familiar work companion

Best for
Windows, Microsoft 365, web answers and everyday productivity.
Keep an eye on
Work and personal versions differ. Check which account and data policy you are using.
Advanced lens
It can reduce tool-switching when Word, Excel, Outlook and Teams are already home.
P
Perplexity

Perplexity

The source-first scout

Best for
Quick research, cited answers and finding useful starting sources.
Keep an eye on
A citation can be real but weak or misread. Open the source, especially for consequential claims.
Advanced lens
Its answer-and-sources format is excellent for discovery, less so as a final authority.
X
xAI

Grok

The live-web conversationalist

Best for
Current topics, web and X context, voice, images and an informal style.
Keep an eye on
Fast-moving information carries fast-moving mistakes. Separate commentary from evidence.
Advanced lens
Real-time search can surface useful signals when recency matters.
L
Mistral AI

Le Chat

The fast European contender

Best for
Fast responses, documents, web use and a European AI alternative.
Keep an eye on
Feature availability varies by plan and platform. Check current limits before committing a workflow.
Advanced lens
Speed and flexible deployment options make Mistral especially interesting to technical teams.
Fast comparison

Choose by job,
not by hype.

Tools change quickly. Start free, use the same real task in two assistants and compare the output you would actually keep.

WRITE

Claude or ChatGPT

For nuanced drafts, structure, tone and iterative thinking.

RESEARCH

Perplexity or Gemini

For source discovery, current information and linked evidence.

MICROSOFT LIFE

Copilot

For workflows already centred on Windows and Microsoft 365.

GOOGLE LIFE

Gemini

For people working across Gmail, Docs, Drive and Android.

CURRENT CHATTER

Grok

For recency and live-web context, with extra verification.

SPEED + EUROPE

Le Chat

For fast assistance and teams exploring European providers.

For advanced users

Do not compare screenshots. Compare systems.

Run a small evaluation set: the same instructions, source material and scoring criteria across every candidate. Measure factual accuracy, edit time, citation quality, privacy fit and total cost.

EVALUATION / 01
score = accuracy × usefulness
+ source_quality
+ time_saved
- correction_cost
- privacy_risk

// “felt clever” is not a metric
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