Guide · 5 min read · Stan Hunter
Claude vs ChatGPT: which should a business owner use?
Both are excellent. The honest answer on which to pay for, based on four years of daily use.
Short version: pay for one, not both, and pick based on what you write most.
Claude
Made by Anthropic. Strongest at long, careful writing and at following detailed instructions. If your work involves documents, proposals, policies or anything where tone matters, Claude tends to produce drafts that need less editing. It is also very good at reading long files and answering questions about them.
ChatGPT
Made by OpenAI. The broadest toolkit: image generation, voice conversation, web browsing and a huge library of plug-ins. If you want one app that does a bit of everything, and you are comfortable checking its work, ChatGPT is the safer generalist.
Microsoft Copilot
If your business already runs on Microsoft 365, Copilot puts AI inside Outlook, Word and Teams. Convenient, and it can read your own emails and files. Its writing is a step behind the other two.
The practical rule
- Writing-heavy business: Claude.
- Image, voice and variety: ChatGPT.
- Already on Microsoft 365 and want it built in: Copilot.
Whichever you pick, the difference between a bland answer and a useful one is the prompt, which is the subject of the next guide.