How today's chatbots actually work

All of the assistants in this guide are built on large language models (LLMs) — neural networks, based on the transformer architecture introduced in the 2017 paper "Attention Is All You Need," that are trained on vast amounts of text to predict the next token [1]. When you prompt ChatGPT or Gemini, you are not talking to a search engine or a database: the model generates a statistically plausible continuation of your text. That is exactly why these systems are fluent and useful — and why they can still hallucinate: confidently state things that are not true. Our advice throughout this guide assumes you will verify anything important against the cited sources.

ChatGPT: the default choice, for good reason

OpenAI launched ChatGPT on November 30, 2022, kicking off the current wave of mainstream AI adoption [2]. The model line has moved fast since: GPT-4o (May 2024), the o1 reasoning series (late 2024), GPT-5 (August 2025), GPT-5.1 (November 2025), GPT-5.2 (December 12, 2025) [3], and the flagship GPT-6 "Astra" released September 2026 with advanced alignment and autonomous computing features [4].

900MChatGPT weekly active users, announced August 2026 [5]
$40B+OpenAI revenue run rate ahead of a planned IPO [6]
4Musers of OpenAI's Codex coding agent, March 2026 [7]

ChatGPT pricing (as of September 2026)

What it's best at — and what to watch

ChatGPT's edge is breadth: a single subscription covers chat, coding, image generation, voice, and a huge ecosystem of integrations and developer tooling. "Best chat gpt to use" almost always means the latest model your plan includes — for most people that is the current GPT-5.x/GPT-6 line on Plus. If you want the lowest price, the $8 Go tier is the entry point — just expect ads. The record is not spotless: Italy's privacy regulator temporarily blocked ChatGPT in March 2023 over data-collection concerns [11], and The New York Times sued OpenAI and Microsoft for copyright infringement in December 2023 [12]. These disputes remain unresolved as of this writing, which matters if you care where your tool's training data comes from.

Gemini: Google's everything-assistant

Google's assistant launched as Bard on February 6, 2023 [13] and was renamed Gemini in February 2024 [14]. The model family now runs from Gemini 1.5 (Feb 2024) through Gemini 3 (November 2025), which topped benchmarks at release [15], Gemini 3 Deep Think for research workloads (February 2026) [16], and the fast Gemini 3.5 Flash plus the Gemini Omni video model announced at Google I/O 2026 [17].

1Bmonthly Gemini users, August 2026 — Google's fastest-growing product [18]
$10–200Google AI Plus → Ultra monthly range, May 2026 [19]

Gemini pricing (as of May 19, 2026)

What it's best at — and what to watch

If you live in Gmail, Docs, Drive and YouTube, Gemini is the assistant that already lives there — which explains the "best ai gemini or grok" verdict for Google-workspace users: Gemini wins by integration, not by being strictly smarter. The "best gemini model" question depends on workload: Gemini 3 for general use, Deep Think for research-heavy work. Two caveats from the record: Google paused Gemini's ability to generate images of people in February 2024 after historically inaccurate depictions drew backlash [20], and rollout is regional — the "gemini isn't currently supported in your country" message simply means your account's country isn't in the supported list yet, and there is no supported workaround. Trustpilot reviews of Gemini remain mixed, reflecting pricing and feature-rollout complaints more than raw capability [21].

The alternatives: Claude, DeepSeek & Grok

Claude (Anthropic)

Anthropic's first Claude model launched in March 2023 [22], and Claude has built a reputation as the strongest general-purpose assistant for long-form writing and code. The current flagship, Claude Opus 5, launched July 24, 2026 as "the new default model on Claude Max" [23]. Pricing: Free, Pro $20/month, and Max at $100/month (5x usage) or $200/month (20x usage) [10]. Anthropic's business is booming — a $30B+ annualized revenue run rate by April 2026 and a $183B valuation [24][25] — but a 2026 US class action alleges the Max plan's "5x/20x" usage claims are misleading [26][27]. For most people, Claude Pro at $20 is the sensible tier; pay for Max only if you demonstrably hit Pro's limits.

DeepSeek (Hangzhou, China)

DeepSeek shook the industry with DeepSeek-V3 on December 26, 2024 — an open-weights model that rivaled closed leaders at a fraction of the training cost [28]. The line since: R1 reasoning model (Jan 2025), V3.2 (Dec 2025), V4 (April 24, 2026) with 1M-token context [29], the MIT-licensed R2 reasoner that runs on a single RTX 4090 (April 2026) [30], and V4.1 Flash / V4-Pro (July–August 2026) [31][32]. The chat app is free; API pricing runs $0.14–$0.87 per million tokens [33]. The "review ai deepseek" bottom line: exceptional value and open weights, with real trade-offs — South Korea's government ministries banned it in February 2025 over data-security concerns, and the company admitted it had neglected data protection [34]; regulators worldwide continued to scrutinize it through 2025 [35]. Treat the hosted app as you would any service processing your data outside your jurisdiction.

Grok (xAI)

Grok debuted in November 2023 inside X (Twitter) [36]. It is now a full standalone assistant: Grok 4 went free for everyone in August 2025 [37], and the line reached Grok 4.6 on August 12, 2026 [38]. Pricing spans Free, X Premium $8/month, SuperGrok Lite $10/month, SuperGrok $30/month, X Premium+ $40/month, SuperGrok Plus $100/month and SuperGrok Heavy $300/month [38]. Grok's differentiators are X integration and a deliberately unfiltered persona. The "review ai grok" caveats: Forbes reported Grok lost users through 2026 while Claude and Gemini grew [39], and Grok's image tools were used to spread Hurricane Helene/Milton disinformation on X in October 2024 [40]. Parent xAI was acquired by SpaceX in August 2026 [41].

Also in the arena

Microsoft Copilot (Copilot Pro $20/month; Microsoft 365 Copilot $30/user/month for business, which passed 30 million paid enterprise seats in July 2026 [42][43]) and Perplexity (Free, Pro $20/month, Max $200/month [44]) round out the field for office and research use — both are covered in our writing & study and coding guides.

Head-to-head comparison (September 2026)

AssistantFree tierEntry paidTop consumer planStandout strengthWatch out
ChatGPTYesGo $8/mo (ads)Pro $200/moEcosystem breadth, 900M WAUAds on Go tier; ongoing copyright litigation
GeminiYesAI Plus $10/moAI Ultra $100–200/moGoogle workspace integration, 1B usersRegional availability; 2024 image pause
ClaudeYesPro $20/moMax $100–200/moWriting & code qualityMax usage-claims lawsuit
DeepSeekYes (app)—API $0.14–0.87/1M tokensOpen weights, low costGovernment bans, data-security scrutiny
GrokYesSuperGrok Lite $10/moSuperGrok Heavy $300/moX integration, real-time feedDisinformation misuse; user decline reported

Prices verified from vendor and reputable sources as of September 2026; vendors change plans frequently — check the official pricing page before subscribing. Sources: [3][8][9][10][19][38][42][44].

Prompt tips that actually help

Most "best chatgpt note taking prompt" searches end in a wall of copy-paste templates. You don't need a library — you need a pattern. Three patterns cover 90% of assistant work:

ChatGPT (and Claude) in Xcode 26

Apple's "how to use chatgpt in xcode 26" answer changed at WWDC 2025: Xcode 26 supports external AI models — ChatGPT by default, with Claude and others selectable — for Swift Assist and predictive code completion [45][46]. You can use the free ChatGPT tier or sign in with a paid account for higher limits. If you're on an older macOS, the feature is unavailable — Apple tied it to the new toolchain.

Frequently asked questions

Is ChatGPT free in 2026?+
Yes. ChatGPT has a free tier; paid plans start at ChatGPT Go ($8/month, ad-supported) and ChatGPT Plus ($20/month), with ChatGPT Pro at $200/month [8][9][10].
Which AI assistant is best — ChatGPT, Gemini or Claude?+
There is no single winner. ChatGPT leads in ecosystem and breadth, Gemini in Google integration, Claude in long-form writing quality. Match the assistant to your workflow — see the comparison table above.
What is the best Gemini model?+
As of mid-2026, Gemini 3 is the flagship; Gemini 3 Deep Think targets research and science workloads, and Gemini 3.5 Flash is the fast tier announced at Google I/O 2026 [15][16][17].
Is Claude Max worth $200 per month?+
Claude Max ($100–$200/month) buys 5–20x the usage of Claude Pro ($20/month). Most individuals only need Pro; a 2026 class action alleges Max usage claims were misleading, so review the limits before paying [10][26].
Is DeepSeek safe to use?+
DeepSeek is free and open-weights, but South Korea's government ministries blocked it in February 2025 over data-security concerns and the company admitted neglecting data protection [34][35]. Treat the hosted app like any service that processes your data abroad.
Is Grok free?+
Yes. Grok has had a free tier since August 2025; paid tiers run from SuperGrok Lite ($10/month) to SuperGrok Heavy ($300/month) [37][38].
Why does Gemini say it isn't supported in my country?+
Google rolls Gemini out by region in stages. The message means your account's country isn't in the supported list yet. There is no supported workaround; using a VPN may violate Google's terms of service.
Can ChatGPT review X-rays or give medical advice?+
No. Chatbots are not medical devices and can hallucinate. Never rely on them for diagnosis or treatment. See our Business & Society guide for how AI is actually regulated in healthcare.

Sources

  1. Vaswani et al., "Attention Is All You Need", 2017 — arxiv.org/abs/1706.03762
  2. Gadgets360, "OpenAI ChatGPT: three years since launch" — gadgets360.com
  3. CGTN, "OpenAI launches GPT-5.2 amid competition with Google's Gemini 3", Dec 2025 — news.cgtn.com
  4. ANI, "OpenAI releases GPT-6 Astra model", Sept 2026 — aninews.in
  5. Newsweek, "OpenAI hits 900 million weekly users, raises $110B", Aug 2026 — newsweek.com
  6. Bloomberg Intelligence, "OpenAI revenue accelerates", Aug 2026 — bloomberg.com
  7. The Economic Times, "Codex user base grows to 4 million", Mar 2026 — economictimes.indiatimes.com
  8. SAMAA TV, "OpenAI's $8 ChatGPT Go is here — ads are coming too", Jan 2026 — samaa.tv
  9. MorphLLM, "ChatGPT vs Copilot" pricing comparison — morphllm.com
  10. Bloomberg Línea, "Cuánto cuesta ChatGPT y cuánto cuesta Claude en 2026" — bloomberglinea.com
  11. Reuters, "Italy data protection agency opens ChatGPT probe", Mar 2023 — reuters.com
  12. Reuters, "NY Times sues OpenAI, Microsoft", Dec 2023 — reuters.com
  13. BBC, "Google Bard launch", Feb 2023 — bbc.com
  14. Google blog, "Gemini image generation issue", Feb 2024 — blog.google
  15. Constellation Research, "Google launches Gemini 3", Nov 2025 — constellationr.com
  16. IT Brief, "Google expands Gemini Deep Think for research APIs", Feb 2026 — itbrief.co.uk
  17. The Verge, "Google I/O 2026: biggest announcements", May 2026 — theverge.com
  18. WION, "Gemini just hit a billion users", Aug 2026 — wionews.com
  19. The Decoder, "Google reorganizes its AI subscriptions", May 2026 — the-decoder.de
  20. AP News, "Google pauses Gemini image generation of people", Feb 2024 — apnews.com
  21. Trustpilot, Gemini reviews — trustpilot.com
  22. VentureBeat, "Anthropic introduces Claude", Mar 2023 — venturebeat.com
  23. Anthropic, "Claude Opus 5", Jul 2026 — anthropic.com
  24. Crypto.news, "Anthropic revenue hit a $30B run rate", Apr 2026 — crypto.news
  25. The Verge, "Anthropic is now valued at $183 billion", Sept 2025 — theverge.com
  26. The Verge, "Anthropic class-action lawsuit over subscription plans" — theverge.com
  27. CNET, "Anthropic sued over alleged false advertising of Claude Max usage limits" — cnet.com
  28. TechCrunch, "DeepSeek's new AI model appears to be one of the best open challengers yet", Dec 2024 — techcrunch.com
  29. Xinhua, "DeepSeek V4 released", Apr 2026 — english.news.cn
  30. CrazyRouter, "DeepSeek R2 reasoning model guide" — crazyrouter.com
  31. LLM Stats, DeepSeek V4.1 Flash — llm-stats.com
  32. LLM Stats, DeepSeek V4-Pro-0813 — llm-stats.com
  33. BenchLM, DeepSeek API pricing — benchlm.ai
  34. Reuters, "South Korea's industry ministry temporarily bans DeepSeek", Feb 2025 — reuters.com
  35. Investing.com, "Factbox: governments, regulators increase scrutiny of DeepSeek" — investing.com
  36. Scripps News, "Elon Musk's AI company debuts its new chatbot Grok", Nov 2023 — scrippsnews.com
  37. 3DNews, "Grok 4 made free to all users", Aug 2025 — 3dnews.ru
  38. FelloAI, Grok pricing — felloai.com
  39. Forbes, "Elon Musk's Grok loses users throughout 2026 as rivals rise", May 2026 — forbes.com
  40. BBC, "Grok AI image tools spread hurricane disinformation", Oct 2024 — bbc.com
  41. TBS News, "SpaceX acquires xAI in record-setting deal", Aug 2026 — tbsnews.net
  42. UC Today, "Microsoft 365 Copilot passes 30 million paid seats", Jul 2026 — uctoday.com
  43. The AI Agent Index, Microsoft 365 Copilot — theaiagentindex.com
  44. FelloAI, Perplexity pricing — felloai.com
  45. TechCrunch, "Apple brings ChatGPT and other AI models to Xcode", Jun 2025 — techcrunch.com
  46. 9to5Mac, "Xcode 26 will support multiple AI models, like Claude", Jun 2025 — 9to5mac.com