Best tools · AI
Best AI assistants
Ask questions, brainstorm, summarise and draft. 5 tools in this list, 4 with a free plan.
How this list is ranked. Tools are ordered by how strongly they are built for this job (as tagged in VERILO’s catalogue), then by editorial score and editor rating. Affiliate relationships and featured status are never inputs.
- 01
ChatGPT
Built for itOpenAI's AI assistant for writing, research, coding, image creation and voice conversations.
4.7From $8/moFree plan- This is a core use case of the product.
- Includes AI assistant, AI content generation, AI agents
- 02
Claude
Built for itAnthropic's AI assistant for writing, analysis and coding, with Projects, connectors and the Claude Code agent.
4.6From $20/moFree plan- This is a core use case of the product.
- Includes AI assistant, AI content generation, AI agents
- 03
Gemini
Built for itGoogle's AI assistant, bundled with Google One storage and Workspace apps, on web, Android and iOS.
4.5From $4.99/moFree plan- This is a core use case of the product.
- Includes AI assistant, AI content generation, AI agents
- 04
Perplexity
Built for itAI answer engine that searches the web and responds with cited sources, plus research and browsing agents.
4.3From $17/moFree plan- This is a core use case of the product.
- Includes AI assistant, AI content generation, AI agents
- 05
Jasper
Supports itAI content platform for marketing teams, with brand voice controls, templates and campaign workflows.
3.8From $49/moFree trial- Possible, but other tools on this list are more purpose-built.
- Includes AI assistant, AI content generation, AI agents
Who this list is for
For someone choosing one general assistant for writing, research and everyday questions. Teams producing marketing copy at volume, or working mainly in code, will find a more specialised tool fits better.
How to choose
Start from the work you do most. ChatGPT has the broadest feature set here, including search, files, images, voice and agents; Claude is built around long documents, analysis and prose and bundles a coding agent with its paid plans; Perplexity answers with numbered citations, which suits research you have to verify; Gemini sits inside Gmail, Drive and the rest of Google Workspace.
Then check where your files and colleagues already are. An assistant that connects to the mail, drive and chat tools you use saves more time than a marginally better model, and admin controls start to matter as soon as more than one person uses it.
Expect limits rather than quotas. Usage on these tools is described as windows or multipliers that move with demand rather than fixed published numbers, so try a plan against a normal week of your own work before standardising a team on it.
What to compare
- Your main job
- Writing, research, analysis, code or images — each of these tools is strongest at a different one. Rank them by the task you do daily, not by the benchmark you read last week.
- Sources and verification
- If the output has to be checked by someone else, prefer an assistant that cites where an answer came from. Citations turn a claim into something confirmable in a minute.
- Connectors and data handling
- Look at which of your systems it can read, and what the plan says about how your data is used. Company use usually needs admin controls, not just better answers.
- Long documents
- Test with your longest real file rather than a sample. How much a tool holds at once, and how well it keeps track of it, differs more than the marketing suggests.
- Predictability
- Usage limits here shift with demand. If a deadline depends on the tool, check what happens when a limit is reached and what the next tier actually adds.
Common questions
- Which AI assistant tools have a free plan?
- Perplexity has a free plan, with limits on usage, users or features. Pricing for ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini has not been checked against the vendor in the last 90 days, so they are not included.
- How much does AI assistant software cost?
- The entry paid plans as each vendor lists them, checked against its pricing page: Perplexity Pro at $17 a month. Some vendors quote the annual-billing rate, and seat minimums, higher tiers and add-ons all change the real cost, so price the plan you actually need. Pricing for ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini has not been checked against the vendor in the last 90 days, so they are not included.
- Do I need a paid plan?
- Free tiers cover occasional questions. Paying buys headroom and the extras — higher limits, file handling, connectors, agents — so the honest test is a week of real work on the free tier: if you keep hitting a wall, the paid plan is worth it.
- Is one assistant enough?
- For most people, yes. Some teams run two — one for cited research, one for long-document drafting — but the maintenance is real: two sets of prompts, files and settings to keep current, and two bills.
Read next
Choosing between the top two?
See ChatGPT and Claude side by side on pricing, free plans, ease of use and features.
Compare ChatGPT vs Claude5 tools compared. Each listing shows when its information was last reviewed; prices can change, so check the vendor’s pricing page before you decide.