PCMag’s recent roundup of the best AI chatbots positions ChatGPT as the default all‑rounder while pointing enterprise and specialist users toward Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, Claude, Perplexity and Grok according to use case — a practical hierarchy that reflects capability, ecosystem fit, privacy posture and price.
AI chatbots in 2025 are no longer a single product category but a spectrum of tools: generalist conversational models, ecosystem copilots embedded in productivity suites, research‑first search engines, privacy‑focused assistants, and experimental or adult‑oriented systems. PCMag’s editorial picks capture that split: ChatGPT as the Editors’ Choice for breadth and accuracy; Google Gemini for Google users; Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft‑centric workflows; Perplexity for research and source‑backed answers; Claude for long‑form, privacy‑sensitive work; and Grok for experimental multimedia and looser moderation.
These categorizations map directly to technical and contractual trade‑offs: context window and token pricing, web‑grounding and citation support, enterprise non‑training guarantees, and moderation regimes. PCMag’s evaluation methodology — cross‑comparison of outputs, feature tests (citations, tables, file processing) and hands‑on prompts — remains the practical foundation for editorial ranking.
Adopt a multi‑tool strategy: pilot, measure, and put legal and admin controls in place before you feed sensitive data into any public model. Demand written guarantees for non‑training and data residency when compliance matters. The consumer $20/month tier is a useful starting point, but enterprise value and risk are settled in the contract, not in the UI.
PCMag’s editorial selection reflects practical reality in 2025: specialization wins when it aligns with workflow, and the safest path for teams is careful testing, contractually enforced privacy, and human verification for anything that matters. fileciteturn0file11turn0file13
Source: PCMag UK The Best AI Chatbots for 2025
Background / Overview
AI chatbots in 2025 are no longer a single product category but a spectrum of tools: generalist conversational models, ecosystem copilots embedded in productivity suites, research‑first search engines, privacy‑focused assistants, and experimental or adult‑oriented systems. PCMag’s editorial picks capture that split: ChatGPT as the Editors’ Choice for breadth and accuracy; Google Gemini for Google users; Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft‑centric workflows; Perplexity for research and source‑backed answers; Claude for long‑form, privacy‑sensitive work; and Grok for experimental multimedia and looser moderation.These categorizations map directly to technical and contractual trade‑offs: context window and token pricing, web‑grounding and citation support, enterprise non‑training guarantees, and moderation regimes. PCMag’s evaluation methodology — cross‑comparison of outputs, feature tests (citations, tables, file processing) and hands‑on prompts — remains the practical foundation for editorial ranking.
The landscape at a glance: who wins what and why
ChatGPT — best all‑rounder
- Why it wins: versatility across writing, code, multimodal input and a mature extension ecosystem (plugins / custom GPTs). The consumer ChatGPT Plus tier remains priced at roughly $20/month, with Pro and enterprise tiers for heavy or commercial users. fileciteturn0file13turn0file4
- Strengths: broad capabilities, strong long‑form generation, image features (Sora) and an active third‑party and plugin ecosystem.
- Trade‑offs: hallucinations remain a risk for high‑stakes work and some enterprise data‑use disputes are ongoing (see litigation note below).
Google Gemini — best for Google users
- Why it wins: deep, native integration with Workspace apps (Gmail, Docs, Drive) and multimodal input (voice, image, video). Gemini’s consumer premium variant is commonly bundled in Google One AI / Gemini Advanced at about $19.99/month, often with storage bundles like 2TB for premium users. fileciteturn0file4turn0file9
- Strengths: excellent for in‑document automation, drafting, and live camera + voice interactions (Gemini Live).
- Trade‑offs: ecosystem lock‑in and mixed privacy posture depending on Workspace contracts; enterprises must verify contractual data protections.
Microsoft Copilot — best for Windows and Microsoft 365 integration
- Why it wins: embedded across Windows, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook with enterprise governance via Microsoft Graph and Purview. Copilot aims to operate on tenant data with admin controls and tenant‑level grounding. Microsoft documents that Copilot functionality for Microsoft 365 is offered with governance that separates tenant data handling and provides contractual assurances for enterprise customers. fileciteturn0file13turn0file14
- Strengths: governance, connectors and desktop automation make Copilot practical for regulated environments.
- Trade‑offs: licensing complexity and per‑feature packaging can make cost estimation tricky for SMBs.
Perplexity — best for web search and research
- Why it wins: designed as an “answer engine” with built‑in citations and a research‑first interface. It exposes the Sonar API (or Sonar Pro options) for programmatic, citation‑forward responses and supports browser integration (Comet). Perplexity’s Pro tiers are priced in the same consumer ballpark (around $20/month) for heavier usage. fileciteturn0file15turn0file9
- Strengths: citation‑first answers that reduce manual verification overhead and a UI optimized for follow‑up research.
- Trade‑offs: citations are helpful but not a substitute for reading original sources — citation presence does not guarantee correctness.
Claude (Anthropic) — best for long‑form, safety and privacy controls
- Why it wins: safety‑guided design, editorial voice, and very large context windows on paid tiers (Anthropic advertises 200K tokens on many paid plans, with higher enterprise options on contract). Claude is notable for contractual non‑training guarantees in commercial agreements and for short consumer retention windows. fileciteturn0file14turn0file11
- Strengths: coherent long‑form drafting, document summarization and enterprise options that treat customers as controllers for data usage.
- Trade‑offs: long‑context modes often carry premium pricing and are not primarily optimized for live web lookups without a RAG layer. Verify exact token windows and pricing per account.
Grok (xAI) — experimental, multimedia and permissive moderation
- Why it wins: novel multimedia features, real‑time web access to X content, and experiments with adult/NSFW creative modes. Grok’s appeal lies in creative freedom and rapid iteration, but that very looseness raises regulatory and reputation risks. Premium gating and subscription models have shifted quickly as xAI iterates. fileciteturn0file6turn0file4
- Strengths: media generation (images/video), looser moderation for taboo or edgy content, and integrated access to X as a data source.
- Trade‑offs: higher moderation risk, potential regulatory scrutiny, and an evolving pricing model — review current gating at sign up.
Pricing realities and what “$20/month” actually means
Most consumer AI premium tiers have clustered around the $20/month sweet spot for general‑purpose upgrades (ChatGPT Plus, Gemini Advanced / Google One AI, Perplexity Pro, and many vendor consumer tiers). That number is a practical anchor but hides crucial differences:- What you get for $20 varies: higher request caps, access to larger models, expanded context windows, or bundled cloud storage.
- Enterprise features (non‑training guarantees, tenant grounding, SSO/SCIM, data residency) usually cost more and require separate licensing. fileciteturn0file13turn0file11
- Start with free tiers to validate functional fit.
- Pilot premium features for 30 days to measure accuracy gains and actual usage costs.
- For heavy document or API use, forecast token costs or metered agent runtimes — these can blow past simple subscription math. fileciteturn0file11turn0file16
Privacy, training, and legal risk — critical checks before onboarding
Three privacy and legal checkpoints are now required due diligence:- Training opt‑outs: vendors differ in whether they use user prompts/outputs to train models. Anthropic (Claude) and Microsoft enterprise agreements commonly offer non‑training contractual options; others require explicit contract terms to exclude training. Verify the vendor’s privacy center and your contract. fileciteturn0file14turn0file13
- Retention and deletion: consumer retention windows and deletion guarantees vary. Anthropic has historically described a one‑month deletion policy for consumer conversations, while commercial terms differ. Always confirm the latest retention policy at sign‑up.
- Litigation and IP risk: publishers and publishers’ parent companies are actively litigating AI training practices; for example, Ziff Davis filed a complaint against OpenAI in April 2025. This litigation affects vendor risk profiles and may change available features or contractual language. Treat contractual non‑training and indemnity provisions as a procurement priority for enterprise use. fileciteturn0file13turn0file11
How these chatbots differ technically (concise comparison)
- Context window: Claude advertises large windows (200K tokens and higher on enterprise tiers); ChatGPT and Gemini have expanded context capabilities too, but the exact working set depends on model and plan. Confirm per‑account limits before relying on “book‑length” context. fileciteturn0file14turn0file13
- Web grounding: Perplexity and Gemini emphasize live web grounding and citations by design; ChatGPT, Copilot and Grok offer web access in various forms (plugins, Bing integration, real‑time scraping) depending on tiers. fileciteturn0file15turn0file9
- Privacy controls: Claude and Microsoft enterprise offerings explicitly document options to exclude customer data from training; others require enterprise addenda. Review legal terms. fileciteturn0file14turn0file13
- Multimodality: Gemini and newer ChatGPT models provide image, voice and limited video features; Grok and other vendors experiment with richer media generation engines. fileciteturn0file4turn0file6
For Windows users and IT teams: deployment checklist
- Inventory sensitive data sources and classify data that must not be fed to public models.
- Pilot two vendors per core workflow (one ecosystem copilot, one specialist) for 30 days and measure accuracy, rate limits, and time saved.
- Demand contractual non‑training language and data residency clauses for regulated workloads.
- Configure admin controls: plugin whitelists, rate limits, and tenant connectors; disable third‑party plugins until vetted. fileciteturn0file16turn0file18
- Define three representative tasks (e.g., document summarization, Excel automation, research with sources).
- Run identical prompts across two candidate chatbots and measure output accuracy, time saved, and manual verification time.
- Track token/API costs and latency for scale assumptions.
- Review vendor contract terms for training, retention and indemnity before any production use. fileciteturn0file17turn0file16
Strengths, weaknesses and the most important failure modes
- Strengths: AI chatbots democratize advanced writing, coding, and research tools; they reduce repetitive work and can act as force multipliers for small teams and individuals. Multimodal inputs and in‑app copilots eliminate friction for routine workflows.
- Key failure modes:
- Hallucinations: clear risk for legal, medical or financial use; always require human sign‑off for high‑stakes decisions.
- Data leakage and plugin risk: third‑party plugins and connectors enlarge attack surface and can enable data exfiltration. Vet plugins like third‑party code.
- Legal uncertainty: IP disputes and training litigation can affect vendor behavior and feature availability. Expect contractual churn.
Practical picks by persona (quick one‑line recommendations)
- General productivity and creative work: ChatGPT (Plus tier for heavier users).
- Google Workspace power users: Gemini (Google One AI / Gemini Advanced).
- Windows / Microsoft 365 enterprises: Microsoft Copilot (tenant grounding and Graph connectors).
- Research, journalism and source‑first needs: Perplexity (Sonar API for programmatic citation).
- Long‑form drafting with privacy guarantees: Claude (confirm enterprise non‑training terms).
- Experimental multimedia and looser moderation: Grok (be aware of regulatory and reputational risk).
What to verify right now (always confirm these before committing)
- Exact context window and token pricing for your account.
- Whether the vendor will use your data to train public models (ask for contract language).
- Retention and deletion timelines for conversation data.
- Plugin and connector governance (can you disable third‑party plugins at tenant level?). fileciteturn0file11turn0file14
A note on novelty vendors and unverifiable claims
New entrants sometimes tout bold specs (large parameter counts, unique internal benchmarks). Independent reporting warns that vendor‑stated parameter counts and benchmark claims should be treated cautiously until corroborated by neutral benchmarks or technical papers. For example, rapid growth and model claims for some emerging apps were reported alongside caveats that parameter figures were vendor assertions. Always require replication or independent evaluation for claims that materially affect procurement.Conclusion — a pragmatic playbook for 2025
The winner in the AI chatbot race depends on what you need the tool to do. For most users, ChatGPT remains the most convenient and capable all‑rounder; for organizations, Copilot and Gemini deliver the most immediate productivity benefits if your data and workflows already live in Microsoft or Google ecosystems. Perplexity is the researcher’s ally because of its citation‑first interface, while Claude serves long‑form, privacy‑sensitive workloads where contractual non‑training and extended context matter. Grok pushes creative boundaries but brings moderation and regulatory trade‑offs.Adopt a multi‑tool strategy: pilot, measure, and put legal and admin controls in place before you feed sensitive data into any public model. Demand written guarantees for non‑training and data residency when compliance matters. The consumer $20/month tier is a useful starting point, but enterprise value and risk are settled in the contract, not in the UI.
PCMag’s editorial selection reflects practical reality in 2025: specialization wins when it aligns with workflow, and the safest path for teams is careful testing, contractually enforced privacy, and human verification for anything that matters. fileciteturn0file11turn0file13
Source: PCMag UK The Best AI Chatbots for 2025
