THE FIELD GUIDE / Find your starting point
Find your inspirationFIND YOUR STARTING POINT
Compare the kind of help, the permissions and the cost—not just the model name. A chat app, a coding agent and a platform for building agents solve different problems.
AN EDITORIAL WAY TO CHOOSE
Try ChatGPT, Gemini, Grok, Claude or Perplexity with the same small task. Compare source quality, how much correction the answer needs and whether the workflow fits your existing apps.
Trade-off: a familiar ecosystem can save effort, but citations and confident language are not proof that an answer is correct.
Compare Codex and GitHub Copilot in a small repository. Review changes and run tests. General chat assistants can explain code, but they are not the same as a repository-aware coding workflow.
Trade-off: more autonomy can reduce manual steps while increasing the need for access boundaries and review.
Muse, Grok Bot and Dots are ongoing-work products. Copilot Studio and Microsoft Foundry are building platforms. For everyday Microsoft documents, look at Copilot or Microsoft 365 Copilot instead.
Trade-off: connected data and actions need permissions, governance and sometimes usage-based spending—not just a subscription.
THE COMPARISON
Best-fit notes are editorial guidance, not measured performance rankings. Follow each product link for full prices, availability and primary sources.
| Tool | A useful starting task | A trade-off to consider | Entry price or access |
|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT | A flexible first stop when you want to think something through, learn a topic, write, analyse material or create. | Tool and model limits vary by plan, and a plausible answer still needs checking. | $0 USD Free |
| Codex | Software work where you can describe the goal, provide project context and review the resulting changes and checks. | You still need to inspect the diff and test the behaviour; reported checks are not a substitute for review. | $0 USD Free ChatGPT plan |
| Dots | Ongoing work with a clear goal, useful connected context and a person ready to review the dot's progress. | Availability is limited by a staged rollout, region and eligible plan; consumer rollout excludes the UK. | No separate price published Included with eligible ChatGPT plans |
| Muse | People in supported regions who want an agent to help with personal goals and connected-app tasks over time. | The personal-agent rollout is currently limited to the United States and supported surfaces. | $0 USD Free for most everyday use |
| Grok | People who want a multimodal assistant and are comfortable checking its answers and managing a shared usage allowance. | The official consumer overview says paid usage comes from a shared weekly pool; demanding video or long coding work can use more of it. | $0 USD Free to start |
| Gemini | People who want an assistant alongside Google services and prefer to begin with a free tier or a low-cost UK subscription. | Model access and usage allowances vary between Free, Plus, Pro and Ultra. | £0 GBP Free with a Google Account |
| Microsoft Copilot | Everyday questions, drafting and creative help, especially if you already use Microsoft devices and services. | Usage limits and feature availability can vary by region and over time. | £0 GBP Free baseline experience |
| Microsoft 365 Copilot | Teams that already work in Microsoft 365 and want AI help close to their documents, messages and collaboration tools. | The paid business add-on requires a qualifying Microsoft 365 plan and is priced per user. | £0 GBP add-on Included with an eligible Microsoft 365 subscription |
| Copilot Studio | Teams that need to build, govern and publish agents connected to business workflows or data. | This is a business platform, not a consumer chat app; setup requires tenant and Azure decisions. | Included; no additional Copilot subscription price Included for licensed users |
| Microsoft Foundry | Developers and organisations building their own AI applications or agents rather than choosing a ready-made consumer assistant. | It is a platform for builders, so model selection, app code and Azure resource setup are part of the work. | Varies by model, region and resources Azure usage-based pricing |
| GitHub Copilot | Developers who want AI assistance close to their editor, terminal and GitHub repositories. | Agent and chat usage draws on plan-specific AI credits; a complex session can use more than a simple completion. | $0 USD Free individual plan |
| Claude | People who want help with substantial writing, analysis or coding tasks and a conversation they can steer and revise. | Paid usage is still limited and can depend on task size, model and features used. | $0 USD Free |
| Perplexity | Starting web research when you want sources attached to an answer and a quick route into follow-up questions. | A citation does not guarantee that the source supports the claim; open and check the cited pages. | $0 USD Free |
| Grok Bot | Delegating repeatable, multi-step work across apps when you can carefully manage account access and review actions. | It needs meaningful account access; only connect services and grant permissions you are comfortable with. | $20 USD Monthly; US price |
A FAIR FIRST TEST
Use a non-sensitive document, a short research question or a small coding change. Keep the input and success criteria the same.
Open citations, test calculations and code, and count the corrections you need. Separate advertised features from the result you actually observe.
Review data settings, permissions, spending limits and cancellation terms. Start on a free tier or a bounded test where available.