Three products, three companies
- ChatGPT — OpenAI. The tool that popularised conversational AI.
- Claude — Anthropic. Known for careful writing and long-context work.
- Gemini — Google. Tightly integrated with Google's ecosystem, strong on multimodal input.
Capabilities change frequently. Treat this as a way to think about the differences, not a permanent scorecard.
Where each tends to shine
ChatGPT
- Broad general use, coding help, structured productivity workflows
- Rich ecosystem of custom GPTs and tool integrations
- Strong at following formatting instructions
Claude
- Long documents — reading a full report and answering specific questions about it
- Careful, considered writing
- Nuanced instructions and structured extraction
Gemini
- Multimodal: images, text and documents together
- Search-grounded answers when connected to Google services
- Google Workspace integration
Choosing for a task
There is no universal winner. Choose by task:
| Task | A reasonable default |
|---|---|
| Read a 60-page PDF and answer detailed questions | Claude |
| Draft, revise and format a document | ChatGPT |
| Combine text with images or slides | Gemini |
| Write code and reason about errors | ChatGPT or Claude |
| Structured extraction from long text | Claude |
| Quick research grounded in current sources | Gemini |
Prompting differences
The core prompting principles are the same across all three — role, task, constraints, context. Small dialectal differences exist:
- Claude often responds well to explicit output structure ("Return exactly two paragraphs and one bullet list").
- Gemini is direct and benefits from clear scoping when connected to search.
- ChatGPT is comfortable with iterative refinement in a long chat.
If you already know how to prompt one, you know most of how to prompt the others.
Cost and access
Pricing and free-tier limits shift often. For any serious workflow, evaluate current terms at the source. Assume none of these tools are free at production scale.
Product ownership
ChatGPT is a product of OpenAI. Claude is a product of Anthropic. Gemini is a product of Google. Glintr provides independent learning programs and educational content around the use of AI tools.
Where to go next
- Learn to prompt: What Is Prompt Engineering?
- Structured programs: ChatGPT, Claude AI, Gemini AI
