Table of Contents
Are all AI chatbots the same? Absolutely not. Each has unique strengths and weaknesses that affect how and whether you should use them. We've been testing AI chatbots since their inception, assessing what they can really do and cutting through the hype. On a basic level, they can help you find information, but they can also create images and videos, generate comprehensive research reports, and process files. Furthermore, you can have organic, wide-ranging conversations with them. Gemini is our top pick overall thanks to its exceptional underlying tech and value-adding array of features and integrations. However, the field is rapidly evolving, and lots of chatbots stand out for various reasons. Read on for all of our favorites, followed by what you need to know before choosing the best AI chatbot for your needs.
Our Top Tested Picks
Google Gemini
ChatGPT
Microsoft Copilot
Perplexity
Claude
Grok
- RELATED:
- Best AI Search Engines
- Best NSFW AI Image Generators
- Best AI Image Generators
- Best AI Video Generators
- Best NSFW AI Video Generators
EDITORS' NOTE
June 22, 2026: With this update, our lineup of recommended AI chatbots remains unchanged. We have vetted the existing picks for availability and currency.
Gemini offers the strongest value of any AI chatbot. It performs well across all types of prompts we test, but its Nano Banana image editing and generation tech is the best we've seen in a chatbot. An impressive suite of useful integrations across pretty much every Workspace app, plus 2TB (or more) of cloud storage for premium users, rounds out the experience.
Price and value: Of all the AI chatbots, Gemini is the most generous. Its free plan includes access to some of its top models (such as Nano Banana Pro and 3.1 Pro) as well as 15GB of Google Drive storage, among many other things. Paid plans significantly expand usage limits and cloud storage allocations, which no other premium chatbot plan offers to the same degree.
Models: Gemini has two primary series of models: Flash and Pro. The current latest versions are 3.5 Flash and 3.1 Pro. Flash is best for everyday tasks, while Pro can use complex reasoning to handle complicated requests. Additionally, Gemini offers its Nano Banana image generation models and its Veo video generation models.
Performance and speed: Gemini's 3.5 Flash model is blazingly fast, whether you're coding or just asking questions. However, Gemini's models are also smart enough to handle complex reasoning, deep research, and image recognition, among other things, without issue. While Gemini's models aren't best-in-class in terms of intelligence, they're more than smart enough for most tasks.
Capabilities and features: Gemini supports an exhaustive number of integrations with almost all of Google's many apps and services. As such, it's ideal if you work deep within the Google ecosystem. As you might expect, Gemini also has a bevy of AI search features within Google Search itself, which enables you to more effectively hunt down information. Lastly, Gemini's AI agent, Spark, stands out as the most effective one I've tested to date.
Media generation: If you're after best-in-class AI image or video generation, Gemini leads the pack. Its Nano Banana Pro AI image generation model creates the most realistic AI images available today. And Gemini's Veo 3.1 AI video model far outclasses the competition, generating videos so lifelike you can easily mistake them for real clips.
Voice: Gemini supports voice chat, called Gemini Live, but only on its mobile apps, not the web interface. On the web, it limits you to text-to-speech functionality. The voice chat experience on mobile is seamless, thanks to its many customization options, generally high-quality voices, and straightforward interface.
Google users: If you already rely on Google apps such as Docs, Drive, Gmail, and Sheets, Gemini is the chatbot for you. Its rich integrations make everything from curating playlists to generating emails as simple as a single click.
Media generators: If your favorite thing to do with chatbots is generate (or edit) images and videos, Gemini's best-in-class technologies make it the top option.
ChatGPT, which has almost become synonymous with AI, runs on OpenAI's powerful 5-series of LLMs. It produces incredibly comprehensive responses with a friendly attitude. From complex reasoning to creative writing, ChatGPT excels at providing you with a foundation of content to build upon and shape as you see fit. It also stands out for its robust customization options, which let you personalize ChatGPT, and its comprehensive memory capabilities.
Price and value: ChatGPT isn't as generous as Gemini with its free plan, but its paid plans are generous with usage, particularly if you're a vibe coder. We appreciate the variety of subscription options, which let you spend anywhere from $8 per month to $200 per month, depending on exactly how much usage you need and which features you want.
Models: ChatGPT's latest flagship model is GPT-5.5, which comes in Instant and Thinking flavors. Instant is best for most prompts, while Thinking is ideal for requests that require reasoning. ChatGPT Images 2.0 is its image generation model.
Performance and speed: GPT-5.5 is one of the smartest AI models available. It can think deeply about even the most complex requests and deftly handle a variety of coding tasks. GPT-5.5 Instant works quickly, but even GPT-5.5 Thinking doesn't take too long on most prompts.
Capabilities and features: ChatGPT's deep research feature is excellent, churning out lengthy reports on any topic. It also offers an impressive array of features, including an AI agent, an AI web browser, and its Codex app for coding, among other things. Although ChatGPT doesn't support many integrations, it does have a few, including a convenient one with Adobe that lets you edit images generated by ChatGPT.
Media generation: ChatGPT goes toe-to-toe with Gemini's best-in-class image-generation models, delivering consistently high-quality images and robust editing tools. ChatGPT no longer supports video generation, as OpenAI discontinued Sora 2.
Voice: You can voice chat with ChatGPT on desktop or mobile, and the voice quality impresses, even though it's still recognizable as AI. You can customize both ChatGPT's voice and personality more than with competitors, but these settings would be more accessible during voice chats.
Chatters: If the main reason you use AI is for conversation, ChatGPT's approachable tone and in-depth customization options make it, by far, the best partner you can have among mainstream chatbots.
Independent users: If you don't use much software within Google's or Microsoft's ecosystem, the extra features of Copilot or Gemini won't matter to you. ChatGPT is much more attractive from a value standpoint if you can get by with just the integrations it supports.
Copilot uses powerful LLMs from OpenAI and blends them with Bing web-scraping data for up-to-date responses to your prompts. It's available on mobile apps, the web, and Windows. For an extra subscription fee, Copilot also works inside Microsoft 365 apps, suggesting edits or formulas and even generating illustrated presentations based on your text prompts.
Price and value: Considering just how expansive Copilot's feature set is, Copilot subscriptions offer superb valuable. Furthermore, Copilot is part of Microsoft 365, so you also get access to the Microsoft Office suite and plenty of OneDrive storage when you sign up. However, Microsoft 365 isn't quite as generous with cloud storage as Gemini subscriptions.
Models: OpenAI's models power Copilot's different modes (Search, Smart, Study and learn, and Think deeper), but Microsoft isn't always up front about which ones. For example, Microsoft says Smart mode relies on GPT-5 while vaguely stating that the "latest reasoning models from OpenAI" enable the Think deeper mode.
Performance and speed: Copilot isn't the fastest chatbot, but it responds quickly enough that you won't have to wait long. It also has enough intelligence to answer most questions without issues. Thanks to its core OpenAI tech, it performs competently, though not exceptionally, across the board.
Capabilities and features: Like Gemini, Copilot's biggest appeal is its deep integration across the Microsoft ecosystem. You can find Copilot in almost every Microsoft product, including Windows. Furthermore, the breadth of Copilot's features is impressive, offering everything from AI-powered 3D modeling to text-to-speech and much more.
Media generation: Copilot, like ChatGPT, doesn't generate videos, but it does edit and generate images. It does so competently, but top models from ChatGPT and Gemini provide better results. Although they aren't technically part of the Copilot ecosystem, Microsoft's in-house line of MAI-Image models also generates quality, if not best-in-class, images.
Voice: Copilot supports voice chat on both mobile and the web. The quality of its voices generally impresses, even if they don't sound perfectly human. Copilot's voice chat interface also makes it easy to adjust settings on the fly. Furthermore, it also has some unique features, such as the ability to give your AI voice an avatar.
AI web browser fans: Microsoft's Copilot-powered Edge is one of the best AI web browsers available because it combines AI features and traditional browser conveniences so well. Importantly, it's the default browser on Windows, too.
Microsoft users: Choose Copilot to leverage AI across the Microsoft ecosystem. It's an especially good option if you spend a lot of time using Microsoft 365 apps, such as Excel, PowerPoint, Word, and more.
Although Perplexity brands itself as an "answer engine" rather than an AI chatbot, it has all the features we expect from one, including complex reasoning, deep research, file processing, image recognition, media generation, and more. It's less conversational than other chatbots on this list, but it excels at web search, thanks to generally accurate responses and an excellent user interface. Meanwhile, Perplexity's Comet web browser bakes AI right in.
Price and value: Although you can use Perplexity for free, you don't get access to most of its features, such as its AI agent, Computer, or model selection. Premium Perplexity subscriptions also include Comet Plus (an upgraded version of the company's AI web browser) and higher usage limits. However, only two options are available (Pro for $17 per month or Max for $167 per month, billed annually), so you don't have much flexibility.
Models: Perplexity uses its in-house model line. Sonar (its latest version is Sonar 2) can do everything from deep research to web searching and more. However, part of the magic of Perplexity is that you can use other models with it, including those from ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini. It's a great place to compare AI models.
Performance and speed: Perplexity excels at deft, quick web searches rather than at more traditional chatbot tasks. You can still use it to crunch through tough equations or have a casual conversation, but it's not as good at that as competitors. However, if you're looking for a chatbot to help you do research, Perplexity is a top performer.
Capabilities and features: Perplexity offers a unique AI agent, Computer, and an AI web browser, Comet. It can also help you track relevant news and stay up to date. Like ChatGPT, Perplexity lacks the meaningful integrations you get with chatbots, such as Copilot and Gemini.
Media generation: You can generate both images and videos with Perplexity via third-party models. For the best results, select Nano Banana Pro or Veo 3.1. Perplexity's other options, such as the out-of-date GPT-Image-1, won't perform as well. However, keep in mind that you need a premium subscription to use Veo 3.1 and the top Max subscription for Nano Banana Pro.
Voice: Perplexity allows for voice chat on desktop and mobile, and you can change voices easily. Voice quality matches that of other chatbots, meaning it's generally high-quality, albeit imperfect. However, you can't share your screen with Perplexity during a voice chat, unlike with Copilot, ChatGPT, and Gemini.
Comparison shoppers: Perplexity supports models from a range of AI companies, including Google and OpenAI, making it a great place to try out models and see which work best for your needs.
Researchers: If using AI to find answers to all the questions you might have on a topic sounds interesting, Perplexity specializes in AI search. Just don't expect casual conversations at the level of ChatGPT or Gemini.
Claude offers a host of interesting features, such as AI-assisted design and visualization, but its defining attribute is its coding acumen, especially within the Claude Code app. With agentic tech, incredibly intelligent models, and large context windows, Claude is the chatbot of choice for many professional programmers and vibe coders alike. Its usage limits can be aggressive, however, so you might have to spring for an expensive subscription.
Price and value: You can use Claude for free, but it doesn't have some of the luxuries of other chatbots' free plans, such as cloud storage with Copilot and Gemini. Furthermore, Claude's premium plans start at $20 per month, while many competitors offer cheaper options. Nonetheless, for coders who need lots of usage, Claude's top-tier plans aren't more expensive than those of its closest competitor, ChatGPT.
Models: Claude's flagship models are its Opus line for complicated tasks and its Sonnet line for day-to-day usage. The current latest versions are Opus 4.8 and Sonnet 4.6. Fable 5 (and Mythos 5) are Claude's most intelligent (and most expensive) models, but you can't use them at the time of writing since the US government banned them.
Performance and speed: Although Claude isn't as lightning-fast as Gemini, its intelligence is best-in-class. Its Fable 5 model, for instance, outperforms all other models on benchmarks. Unlike GPT-5.5, Claude's Fable 5 and Opus 4.8 models can also spin up agents to delegate tasks.
Capabilities and features: Claude excels at coding, but it has a variety of features. For example, its desktop app supports a suite of unique integrations. You can use Claude Design to dream up an interface for an app or generate marketing materials, among many other things. Claude even has an agentic assistant, Cowork, that runs locally on your computer.
Media generation: Claude can generate many kinds of assets and visualize all sorts of things via Claude Design, but it doesn't support image or video generation in the traditional sense. Claude builds its visuals using HTML, rather than actually generating images or videos, so you need to look elsewhere for that functionality.
Voice: You can voice chat with Claude on both desktop and mobile. Changing voices or the speaking pace is easy to do right within the voice chat interface, and the voice quality generally matches what you get from other chatbots. However, you can't share your screen with Claude during voice chats, unlike with ChatGPT, Copilot, and Gemini.
Coders: Many people love Claude (Claude Code in particular) for its helpfulness as a programming tool. In fact, Claude Code is easy enough to use that it doesn't require any programming experience.
The privacy-conscious: If you're especially wary of funneling your data into Google, Microsoft, or OpenAI servers, Anthropic's policies are straightforward and give you meaningful control over your personal information.
Grok automatically searches X when responding to prompts, providing a deeper integration with social media than competitors. It's also loose in its moderation, meaning you can chat about a taboo subject or get a relatively neutral evaluation of a hot topic. Grok performs competently in complex reasoning, file processing, and web searching. Grok also has NSFW features, including datable companions and permissive image and video generation.
Price and value: You can use Grok for free, but expect limited usage and missing features. Premium Grok subscriptions, however, are affordable and come with enough options that everyone can find something that works for them. Grok also has a number of NSFW features, giving it unique value in the AI chatbot market.
Models: Grok has different modes (Auto, Expert, and Fast) you can engage depending on the type of prompt you're about to send, but they all run on Grok's self-titled Grok model. The latest version of Grok is Grok 4.3. Grok's Heavy mode, however, uses a variant of Grok called, as you might expect, Grok 4 Heavy.
Performance and speed: Like Copilot, Grok is neither the fastest nor the smartest chatbot, but it can handle the vast majority of tasks you throw at it. If you want to do serious research or build an app, though, you're better off with competitors like ChatGPT or Claude.
Capabilities and features: Unlike most AI chatbots, Grok can search X when responding to prompts, so you can easily get a sense of community sentiment. Grok also excels at NSFW tasks, which other chatbots don't support at all. You can chat with 3D AI companions, generate NSFW media, or even search for explicit videos with Grok.
Media generation: Grok can generate both images and videos, including NSFW content. While what it can generate is unique, its quality isn't on par with the best-in-class image and video generation models from Google or OpenAI. However, media generation with Grok is, at least, serviceable.
Voice: Grok allows for voice chat on both desktop and mobile. You can also change any relevant voice chat settings directly within the voice chat interface. The voice quality is generally just as good as with other AI chatbots.
NSFW content fans: Grok's datable AI companions, along with its generally lax guardrails, separate it from other chatbots.
Social media searchers: If you want responses that consider what the general populace thinks, Grok automatically includes X posts as sources. That makes it the premier AI chatbot for community feedback.
The Best AI Chatbots for 2026 Compare Specs
What Are AI Chatbots?
‘AI chatbot’ is somewhat of an umbrella term. An AI chatbot can describe ChatGPT just as it can a customer service bot you talk to before reaching a human. We use the term here to refer to services built on top of large language models (LLMs). LLMs enable you to do everything from efficiently searching the web to having chats with what feels like an actual person.
What Is a Large Language Model?
LLMs are, at their most basic level, artificial neural networks that companies train on massive quantities of data. Think of a large language model like a very complicated, very long equation that you can plug just about any request into and get a response from, whether that’s the answer to a question or a generated image. For example, GPT-5.5 is the LLM that powers OpenAI's ChatGPT.
What Can AI Chatbots Do?
AI chatbots go far beyond simple question-and-answer text chats. In 2026, AI chatbots can complete tasks for you, such as adding ingredients to a virtual grocery cart, and serve as personal assistants that help organize your life. They can also build apps from scratch, write dozens of pages of research reports, and generate lifelike images and videos. If you prefer, you can interact with most chatbots by voice rather than text.
Some chatbots integrate with apps you already use to provide unique functionality, such as Copilot in Microsoft 365 and Gemini in Google Workspace. As an example, Gemini can answer questions based on your Gmail history. A new crop of AI web browsers goes all in on AI chatbot features, including AI agents, meaning you can take advantage of AI capabilities on every web page you visit.
How Much Do AI Chatbots Cost?
All the chatbots we test have free versions. Paid plans usually range from $10 to $20 per month, depending on the chatbot, and almost every chatbot offers them. Many chatbot features are available for free, albeit with usage limits; however, you need to pay extra for certain features, such as integrating Copilot or Gemini across their respective app ecosystems.
What’s the Best Free AI Chatbot?
Generally, Google Gemini is the best free chatbot. Gemini provides access to its latest models, including 3.5 Flash and Veo 3.1, along with deep research and voice chat features, all for free. You also get 15GB of cloud storage via Google Drive. Many other services put their most advanced models behind paywalls, while luxuries like cloud storage are a rarity, even with paid plans.
Are AI Chatbots Conscious?
You can chat with an AI chatbot like you would a person, so some think chatbots are conscious, but they absolutely are not. An AI chatbot is akin to a video game character with different dialogue options. Our point is that chatbots are merely complicated prompt-response machines and not sentient in any way. So, you can't have real relationships with them, nor can they truly be your friend or therapist.
Where Can You Learn More About AI?
You can query any of the chatbots on this list to find information about how AI (or AI chatbots) works, but a number of more formal resources are available online for you to check out. Ironically, AI chatbots themselves aren't great at explaining how they work, so make sure you verify what they tell you with other sources.
Are Alexa or Siri AI Chatbots?
Alexa and Siri are functionally AI chatbots in 2026, but they don't have the same breadth of features as the services on this list. For example, they lack agents, deep research capabilities, model selection options, and more. However, they do generate images, run on top of LLMs, and support free-flowing, organic conversations.
However, Alexa and Siri come with some caveats. Alexa's features aren't up to snuff with the competition, for example. And the bulk of Siri's AI features won't arrive until the fall, so we don't yet have a good sense of how well they work.
How Can You Tell If Something Is AI-Generated?
The unfortunate answer is that you often simply cannot. Many online services attempt to analyze text to determine if it was generated by AI, but they are imperfect. Some quirks, such as a heavy reliance on em dashes, are hallmarks of AI generation, but just seeing an em dash isn't enough to tell if something is AI-generated. In general, we recommend sticking with sources you trust to avoid AI-generated content. If you want to know whether an image or video is AI-generated, we have tips and tricks for spotting both fake images and videos.
Are AI Chatbots Censored?
Yes, every AI chatbot has some amount of censorship. This ranges significantly, though. For example, DeepSeek has some absolutely egregious censorship where it won’t talk about certain historical events, such as the Tiananmen Square massacre, to keep its responses in line with Chinese propaganda. Meanwhile, Grok is extremely permissive, allowing you to generate images and videos of real people.
Which AI Chatbot Allows Explicit Content?
Of all the chatbots on this list, Grok is the only one that truly allows explicit content. You can use Grok to generate NSFW images and videos, as well as have explicit relationships with its virtual companions, such as the anime character Ani. That said, Grok isn't the best place on the internet for either AI companionship or porn, even though it’s the only full-service chatbot on this list to allow that. You're better off looking for a dedicated AI service if you primarily want to generate explicit content.
Can the Law Use AI Chats Against You?
Yes, courts can and will use your conversations with chatbots against you, so don’t act as if you're anonymous. If you talk to a chatbot about committing a crime or mention crimes you committed, the law might compel AI companies to hand over your conversations. Even if you haven't committed a crime, you might end up in a lawsuit, and your conversations might come up.
How We Choose the Best AI Chatbots
We focus on full-service web-based chatbots, rather than those that you can run locally on your computer. The latter requires a fairly significant time investment and relatively powerful hardware. We also exclude single-use chatbots that specialize in a particular use case at the expense of most others, such as AI companion chatbots.
To test AI chatbots, we provide each with a series of prompts and compare their responses, evaluating accuracy, consistency, complexity, and depth. Each chatbot is different, though, so we tailor our testing to the specific features it offers. That said, we generally evaluate AI chatbots based on their ability to perform complex reasoning, creative writing, deep research, file processing, image editing, image generation, video generation, voice chat, and web search.
Of course, it’s impossible to fully vet the scope of an AI chatbot. One person might have a niche use case related to their work, while another might have zero use for that same 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. That said, we notice some clear differences in testing, and we routinely update our reviews as chatbots evolve. Keep in mind that our reviews are accurate as of their publication date.
What's the Best AI Chatbot for Image Generation?
Among the many excellent AI image generators available, Gemini's Nano Banana Pro is best-in-class. It creates incredibly lifelike visuals. Just keep in mind that you get limited access to it for free before Google switches you over to the original Nano Banana (which won our Technical Excellence award). ChatGPT's image generation model is similarly excellent and doesn't require a paid plan. The bottom line is that you can generate a ton of high-quality AI images without spending a dime.
What's the Best AI Chatbot for Video Generation?
You have many choices in AI video generators, but Gemini's Vero 3.1 is the clear winner in terms of quality. Sora 2 was competitive until OpenAI shut it down. Just keep in mind that AI video generation is much more difficult to do for free compared with AI image generation. Expect to spend some cash if you want to dial in the perfect video.
What's the Best AI Chatbot for NSFW Content?
You can find plenty of NSFW AI image generators and NSFW AI video generators online, but Grok and Kindroid excel at both tasks. It's possible to generate NSFW AI images easily for free, but you will likely need to pay to create NSFW AI videos. Alternatively, you can explore local options that are completely free and entirely private, such as FramePack for video generation and RuinedFooocus for image generation.
Disclosure: Ziff Davis, PCMag's parent company, filed a lawsuit against OpenAI in April 2025, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.
