Deeper Dive: Our Top Tested Picks
- RELATED:
- Best Productivity Apps
- Best To-Do List Apps
- Best Collaboration Software
Best Overall
ChatGPT
4.0 Excellent
- More relevant responses than competitors
- Excellent sourcing on up-to-date information
- Impressive deep research, problem-solving, and writing skills
- Best-in-class image generation and recognition
- Genuinely useful file processing
- Expensive
- Occasionally incorrect responses
ChatGPT, which has almost become synonymous with AI, runs on OpenAI's extremely powerful 4-series and o-series of LLMs. It produces incredibly comprehensive responses with a friendly attitude. From creative writing to deep research, ChatGPT excels at providing you with a foundation of content to build off of and shape as you see fit. It's especially adept at generating images and providing sources for information in a straightforward way.
Choose ChatGPT if you want to experience the best of what a chatbot can offer. It's easy to use, and you can do plenty for free.
Free Version
AI Model GPT-4 and GPT-o
Exchanges per Conversation Unlimited
Cites Sources
Ability to Browse Web
Can Resume Prior Conversations
Image Generator
GET IT NOW
See It
Learn More
ChatGPT Review
Best Value
Google Gemini
4.0 Excellent
- Best-in-class value
- Capable of complex reasoning, file processing, and web search
- Helpful, robust integrations with other Google apps
- Paid version includes 2TB of Google One storage
- Standout video generation with audio
- Occasionally incorrect responses
- Inconvenient deep research sourcing
- Unimpressive image generation
Gemini offers the strongest value of all the AI chatbots we've tested. It generally performs well with complex reasoning, file processing, and web search tasks, and its video generation engine can uniquely create accompanying audio. An impressive suite of useful integrations across pretty much every Workspace app and 2TB (or more) of cloud storage for premium users round out the experience.
If you already rely on Google apps such as Docs, Drive, Gmail, and Sheets, Gemini is the chatbot you should use. Its rich integrations make everything from generating emails to curating playlists as simple as clicking a button.
Free Version
AI Model 2.0 Flash and 2.5 Pro
Exchanges per Conversation Unlimited
Cites Sources
Ability to Browse Web
Can Resume Prior Conversations
Image Generator
GET IT NOW
See It
Learn More
Google Gemini Review
Best for Windows Users
Microsoft Copilot
4.0 Excellent
- Conversational voice interaction with a Think Deeper research option
- Powerful desktop, mobile, and web apps
- Generates code, knowledge answers, images, and text
- Summarizes up-to-date web information
- Includes links to sources
- A lot of functionality is free
- Some responses are slow
- Underwhelming computer control via the Windows app
Copilot uses powerful LLMs from OpenAI and blends them with Bing web-scraping data for relevant and up-to-date responses to your text prompts. It's available via mobile apps, on the web, and within Windows. For an extra subscription fee, Copilot also works insideMicrosoft 365apps, suggesting edits or formulas and even generating illustrated presentations based on your text prompts.
Choose Copilot if you want to leverage AI across the Microsoft ecosystem. It's an especially good option if you primarily use the Edge web browser and the Microsoft 365 suite.
Free Version
AI Model GPT-4
Exchanges per Conversation Unlimited
Cites Sources
Ability to Browse Web
Can Resume Prior Conversations
Image Generator
GET IT NOW
See It
Learn More
Microsoft Copilot Review
Get Our Best Stories!
All the Latest Tech, Tested by Our Experts
Sign up for the Lab Report to receive PCMag's latest product reviews, buying advice, and insights.
Sign up for the Lab Report to receive PCMag's latest product reviews, buying advice, and insights.
By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Thanks for signing up!
Your subscription has been confirmed. Keep an eye on your inbox!
Buying Guide: The Best AI Chatbots for 2025
How Much Do AI Chatbots Cost?
All the chatbots we tested have free versions. Paid plans start around $20 per month, which has become the standard for a premium chatbot subscription. Most chatbot features are available for free, albeit with usage limits, but you need to pay extra if you want Copilot's or Gemini's integrations across their respective app ecosystems.
What’s the Difference Between a Chatbot and a Large Language Model?
Chatbot is just an umbrella term that large language models fall under. It can apply to a customer service answer bot with limited responses or a more sophisticated tool like ChatGPT.
We specifically test chatbots that rely on large language models. These models train on vast quantities of data to “understand” patterns in information and respond to prompts. Answers aren't canned or predetermined; chatbots generate unique responses for each conversation.
How to Choose the Best AI Chatbot
To test AI chatbots, we ask each one the same series of questions and compare their answers, looking for accuracy, consistency, complexity, and depth. We also look at each chatbot's core features, such as whether it can create tables of data, provide citations, summarize information, and so forth. As AI technology advances, we adjust our methods of evaluation accordingly.
There are pitfalls to this approach that are worth bearing in mind. For one, it’s impossible to fully vet the scope of an AI chatbot solution. One person may have a niche use case related to their work, while another person may have zero use for that particular functionality. It would require an army of experts in every field to fully evaluate these tools, and even then, what works well one day might not the next after an update.
Recommended by Our Editors
Tired of Google Search? These Are the Best AI Search Engines
What Is an AI PC? How AI Will Reshape Your Next Computer
Using AI Can Be Ethically Iffy. Here's How to Do It Right
That said, we noticed some clear differences in testing. After spending significant time with each one, you will likely form your own opinion on which are the best AI chatbots, just as we have.
