ChatGPT vs Claude vs Gemini vs Copilot: Which Free AI Is Best for Work?

The short answer: All four have free plans that are good enough for everyday work. Use Claude for business writing and long documents, ChatGPT as a strong all-rounder, Gemini if your work lives in Gmail and Google Docs, and Copilot if it lives in Word, Excel and Outlook. Check every figure, and never paste customers' personal data into any of them.

Most people in Kenya pick an AI tool by habit. They heard about ChatGPT first, so they use ChatGPT for everything. Search data shows how lopsided that is. In the 90 days to mid-October 2026, Bing in Kenya recorded more than 266,000 searches for "chatgpt", against 23,080 for "claude ai", 16,361 for "gemini ai" and 3,701 for "copilot ai" (Cloudwise's own Bing Webmaster Tools data).

Habit is not a bad reason, but it costs you when another tool does a particular job better. Below is where each tool fits, and four test prompts you can run in all four to see the difference for yourself.

Which free AI is best for work?#

There is no single winner. Each tool is strongest where it fits your existing work, so the best choice depends on the task and on where your documents already live.

• Claude: best for business writing, long documents, careful analysis and building your own assistant (a Claude Project). Free plan: yes.
• ChatGPT: best for everyday drafting, ideas and quick questions. The tool most people already know. Free plan: yes.
• Gemini: best for work already in Google: Gmail, Docs and Drive. Free plan: yes.
• Copilot: best for work already in Microsoft 365: Word, Excel, Outlook and Teams. Free plan: yes for the Copilot app; the version inside Microsoft 365 apps is paid.

This matches our guide to which AI tool to use for what.

How can you test them yourself?#

Run the same four work tasks on free accounts, on the same day, with the same prompt and the same files in each tool.

• Accounts: free accounts on ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Copilot
• Rules: one prompt per task, copied exactly; the first answer counts
• Score on: accuracy, whether it followed the instructions, tone, and whether you could use it without heavy editing

Every prompt is below, so copy it into the tools you use and compare.

Task 1: Which AI writes the best reply to a difficult customer?#

This task tests tone. A good reply calms the customer, takes responsibility where it should, refuses what you cannot give and keeps the relationship.

A customer sent us this on WhatsApp: "I paid for delivery on Monday and
it is now Thursday. Nobody is picking my calls. This is the worst service
I have ever had and I want a full refund today."

We are a small online shop in Nairobi. The delivery was delayed because
our rider's motorbike broke down. We can deliver tomorrow morning, and we
can refund the delivery fee, but not the whole order.

Write a reply for WhatsApp: apologise once, explain briefly, offer
tomorrow-morning delivery and a refund of the delivery fee, and keep the
customer. Under 90 words. Warm and professional, no excuses.

What to look for: Could the reply be sent as it is? Watch for a tool that offers the full refund anyway, goes over 90 words, or sounds like a call centre script.

Task 2: Which AI summarises a long PDF best?#

This task tests reading. Upload the same long public document to each tool and ask for a one-page summary with section references. A good choice is the Data Protection Act, 2019 from Kenya Law: it is long, public and contains no personal data.

Summarise the attached document in one page for the owner of a small
business in Kenya. Start with the five things they must do. Then list
any penalties, with amounts. Quote the section number for every fact.
If something is not in the document, say so instead of guessing.

What to look for: Does the free plan accept the file? Are the section numbers right when you check them against the PDF? Did the tool add a fact that is not in the Act?

Whatever tool you use, check two or three of the section numbers yourself. A summary that looks confident can still point to the wrong section.

Task 3: Which AI explains a spreadsheet best?#

This task tests numbers. Make a small sales sheet, for example for an invented salon, with one deliberate mistake: a monthly total that does not match its rows.

The attached sheet shows six months of sales by service for a small
salon. Explain in plain English: which services grow, which fall, and
what the owner should do next month. Before anything else, check the
totals and tell me if any number looks wrong.

What to look for: Which tools find the wrong total without being told where it is? Does any tool invent a trend the numbers do not show?

The mistake in the sheet is the real test. An AI that explains your numbers beautifully but misses a wrong total is more dangerous than one that writes plainly and catches it.

Task 4: Which AI writes the best reply in Kiswahili?#

This task tests language. Give each tool a customer message in everyday Kenyan Kiswahili and ask for a reply in the same register.

A customer sent this message: "Habari, nimeona bei yenu iko juu kidogo.
Mnaweza kunipunguzia kama nachukua mbili? Pia mnaleta mpaka Rongai?"

Reply in friendly, natural Kenyan Kiswahili, the way a shop attendant
in Nairobi would write on WhatsApp. We do not reduce prices, but delivery
to Rongai is free for two items. Keep it short.

What to look for: Ask a fluent Kiswahili speaker to check the replies. Which sounds natural, and which sounds like a textbook or a translation? Did any tool misread "kunipunguzia"?

Google lists Swahili among the languages of the Gemini mobile app (checked October 2026), and all four tools read and write Kiswahili. Writing it the way Kenyans actually text is a different test, which is why a fluent speaker should mark the answers.

Where can each AI get it confidently wrong?#

Every tool can present a mistake as fact. That is the most useful thing to test, because it tells you what to check.

The lesson is the same for all four. AI answers sound equally sure whether they are right or wrong. Check figures, dates, names, section numbers and anything you will sign or send. Our Essentials class opens with a deliberately wrong AI answer and four checks that catch it.

Which AI should I use for what?#

Use the tool that fits the job and the place where your work already lives. Most people end up with one main tool and one second opinion.

• Writing that must sound right (proposals, difficult emails, reports): Claude, then compare with ChatGPT if it matters.
• Quick ideas and everyday drafting: ChatGPT or Claude, whichever you have open.
• Anything inside Gmail, Docs or Drive: Gemini, because it sits where the documents are.
• Anything inside Word, Excel, Outlook or Teams at work: Copilot, if your employer provides it.
• A job you do every week: build an assistant for it in Claude Projects, so you stop explaining the job from scratch.
• Customer personal data: none of them. Remove names, phone numbers and ID numbers first, under the Data Protection Act, 2019.

If you are new to all of this, start with one tool and learn to prompt it well. Our step-by-step guide on how to use Claude AI for free takes about 30 minutes.

Why do our classes teach on Claude and still show the others?#

We teach on Claude because it handles business writing and long documents well, and because its free plan lets you build a Project: your own assistant with instructions and files. We still show ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot and Meta AI, because your workplace may already use one of them.

Cloudwise Limited, an ICT company in Westlands, Nairobi, runs hands-on AI training on Claude for individuals and teams. In AI Essentials, the one-Saturday course, we run this kind of side-by-side comparison live, then each participant builds an AI assistant for their own job. If you want the full picture of what we teach and what it costs, see our hands-on AI training in Nairobi.

Frequently asked questions#

Which AI is best for Kiswahili?#

All four read and write Kiswahili, and Google lists Swahili among the Gemini app's languages. Quality depends on the task. Everyday business replies are usually usable, while Sheng, idioms and formal letters need care. Test your own message in two tools, and ask a fluent speaker to check anything important before you send it.

Do I need to pay for any of them?#

No. ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and the Copilot app all have free plans that handle everyday work. Free plans have usage limits, and some features need a paid plan, such as Copilot inside Word and Excel at work. Use the free plan for a few weeks first, and pay only for the tool you actually use daily.

Is Copilot the same as ChatGPT?#

No. Copilot is Microsoft's assistant and ChatGPT is OpenAI's. Microsoft has used OpenAI's models inside Copilot, for example GPT-5.6 in Microsoft 365 Copilot, but the products differ in features, limits, privacy terms and where they work. Copilot's strength is its place inside Microsoft 365.