ChatGPT
General AI Assistants
The broadest general assistant for writing, analysis and day-to-day business questions.
From $20/mo
Beginner
Free plan
Last verified 2026-08-20View profile
Best AI for
Best AI for research
These products are ranked from recorded capability, pricing and ease-of-adoption data rather than popularity. Most businesses need one tool from this list — not three. If you already pay for a general assistant, check the overlap before adding a specialist product.
Claude
General AI Assistants
Strongest choice for long documents, careful reasoning and considered written tone.
From $20/mo
Beginner
Free plan
Last verified 2026-08-20View profile
Perplexity
Research
Live web research with citations you can check.
From $20/mo
Beginner
Free plan
Last verified 2026-08-20View profile
Gemini
General AI Assistants
Best fit for businesses already running on Google Workspace.
From $20/mo
Beginner
Free plan
Last verified 2026-08-20View profile
Attio
CRM
Modern, flexible CRM with AI research built into records.
From $29/mo
Intermediate
Free plan
Last verified 2026-08-20View profile
Apollo.io
Sales
Prospect data and outbound sequencing with AI assistance.
From $49/mo
Intermediate
Free plan
Last verified 2026-08-20View profile
Surfer SEO
Marketing
Content optimisation for businesses that rely on search traffic.
From $79/mo
Intermediate
Last verified 2026-08-20View profile
How to choose between them
- Start with what you already pay for — a general assistant often covers basic research work.
- Buy a specialist tool only when a specific, repeated task justifies the subscription.
- Check integrations against the systems your team already uses daily.
- Match the difficulty level to your team, not to the most capable product.