OUR EXPERTS

Blake Stimac

Reporter 2

Imad Khan

Former Senior Reporter

Article updated on September 1, 2026, 1:26 pm EDT

INSIDE CNET LABS

25+

Years of Experience

23

Product Reviewers

15k

Sq.Ft of Lab Space

Reviews ethics statementHow we test

Table of Contents

Artificial intelligence goes way beyond a typical chatbot, but that’s how many people interact with the technology today. The likes of ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude are becoming household names and can help people get more detailed answers than a standard search engine, and much more than that, too.

Our Picks

Best overall AI chatbot

Anthropic Claude

See at Claude

Expand Pros & Cons

Best value chatbot

Google Gemini

See at Google

Expand Pros & Cons

Most versatile chatbot

ChatGPT

See at ChatGPT

Expand Pros & Cons

Best AI chatbot for research

Perplexity

See at Perplexity

Expand Pros & Cons

A lot has changed since ChatGPT debuted a couple of years ago, and chatbots are a dime a dozen these days, but which one is best? The real answer is that it depends on your needs. Some chatbots are more consistent with their responses, and some just don’t have the same capabilities as others. For example, Gemini excels at generating images thanks to Nano Banana, but you can’t do that at all with Claude.

If you’re unsure which chatbot may fit your needs best, we’ve broken down some of the best options we’ve tested below.

What is the best AI chatbot of 2026 so far?

Claude by Anthropic is our pick for best overall chatbot. While it’s often considered to be more work-focused than general-purpose, its consistency is what wins out overall. The landscape has changed with the competition, and while the likes of Gemini and ChatGPT have improved by leaps and bounds, so has Claude.

Best overall AI chatbot

Anthropic//CNET

Best overall AI chatbot

Anthropic Claude

Pros & Cons

• Detailed and insightful answers
• Fast response time
• Typically consistent across the board
• Claude's best features are behind a paywall
• No image or video generator

Get it now

See at Claude

Expert Take

Getty Images/Viva Tung/CNET

Best value chatbot

Google Gemini

Pros & Cons

• Upgrading Gemini gives you a lot more than better models
• Nano Banana Pro image generator is the best of its kind
• Integrates seamlessly into other Google products
• You're giving even more of your data to Google
• Significant guardrails around certain conversation topics

Get it now

See at Google

Expert Take

James Martin/CNET

Most versatile chatbot

ChatGPT

Pros & Cons

• Provides solid answers with ample context
• Good at general-purpose outputs
• Despite its popularity, ChatGPT is less impressive next to the competition these days
• Lacks a "killer feature"
• Ads on free plan and low-cost Go plan

Get it now

See at ChatGPT

Expert Take

Perplexity AI logo on phone screen. / James Martin/CNET

Best AI chatbot for research

Perplexity

Pros & Cons

• Great for deep dives and comparisons
• Dedicated tabs for sources, images and more mentioned
• Choice of multiple models to work with (paid)
• Still cites YouTube and Reddit as sources by default too often
• Not immune to hallucinations, despite providing sources.

Get it now

See at Perplexity

Expert Take

How we tested AI chatbots

Testing chatbots is an imperfect task. AI models are constantly changing, and the way to test them varies with each iteration. Indeed, even the way you deliver your query could very well affect how the chatbot responds on the same model. With this in mind, the way we approach testing chatbots is to ask questions that an average person may want to ask. Whether it’s asking AI to come up with a recipe based on the ingredients in your kitchen, a product comparison or some of the best TV shows to watch based on your personal interests, these types of prompts aren’t an attempt to confuse the chatbot or get it to hallucinate.

While we typically don’t ask chatbots about current events, we do ask questions to see how far each option is willing to speak to the subject, as some are more open to conversing about these topics than others.

Ultimately, we’re looking for answers that are thoughtful and nuanced, taking the appropriate context into account to deliver a useful response.

For more, see How We Test AI.

Factors to consider

No matter what any privacy policy claims, your sensitive information should stay out of chatbots. AI models need training, and unless you’re checking every privacy policy, your personal details could be swallowed up and potentially regurgitated elsewhere in the worst-case scenario. Some privacy policies, such as Google’s, state that identifiable information is removed, but you should remain cautious about the details you provide to any AI.

Other AI chatbots we tested

Microsoft Copilot: Copilot can be found on the web, Windows computers or the dedicated mobile app, and it primarily uses Chat GPT-4/5 models. It’s about as easy to use as any other chatbot, but users with a Copilot 365 license will see the most benefit in this solution. Image generation, while inconsistent, can be a highlight with this model, sometimes capable of outputting stunning work.

Still, the overall experience Copilot provides isn’t up to snuff with the likes of Claude, ChatGPT or Gemini.

Meta AI: Integrated into several Meta apps and the Ray-Ban Meta glasses, Meta AI is accessed a bit differently than other chatbots. It’s free and can generate text and images, but it struggles to stand out next to the competition. While Meta AI can be decent at a couple of general-purpose tasks like shopping advice and comparisons, there’s ultimately nothing to highlight that a competitor can’t do better.

AI chatbot FAQs

What’s the difference between a chatbot and LLM?

Chatbots and LLMs are not quite the same thing. The LLM, or large language model, can be thought of as the brain. It’s able to process text, generate code, translate languages and more, but its primary function is not to chat. That’s where the chatbot comes in.

If the LLM is the brain, the chatbot is the body, providing structure to the experience. The chatbot is the app you use to interact with it. That’s not all, though. Chatbots can also have several other features, and most do, including image or video generators, coding and more.

How much do AI chatbots cost?

TLDR: About $20 a month, if you want to pay for one.

If you’re a regular user of any chatbot on the free version, you’ll likely meet its limitations eventually. Some of these limitations will lock you out of continuing the conversation after a certain amount of time. And for those looking to upgrade to get higher limits, expect to pay about $20 for most personal subscription versions of each popular chatbot.

More recently, Google introduced an $5 “Plus” AI plan that bridges the gap between the free and the Pro versions. It’s a smart move, given that some people might not want to cough up the initial $20. ChatGPT also offers a lower-cost, “Go” plan, for $8 a month.

What is the best AI on mobile?

All major chatbots now have apps on both iOS and Android, so it’s essentially a matter of preference. If you’re using an Android phone, then Gemini takes the win, as it’s preinstalled on many phones out of the box and deeply integrates into the system. If you’re rocking a Pixel phone, the best of Gemini is already at your fingertips.
For some iOS users, Apple Intelligence is preinstalled, but it’s far from the idea that Apple initially promised. Eventually, Gemini will be the underlying model that runs the show, but for now, the choice is up to you. For its simple and straightforward approach, we prefer the ChatGPT app.

Can AI be trusted?

Despite significant improvements in recent years, the chatbots we’re working with today still make mistakes sometimes, and some companies even have checks in place to determine whether images are made with AI or not. It may not be a completely perfect solution, but guardrails are being put in place to protect humans from undetectable AI slop.

No matter what you do, be sure to keep your sensitive and personal information out of a chat with a chatbot, as the parent companies often can — and sometimes will — use whatever info you give to their AI as they see fit.

Even if the answer ultimately becomes a firm “no,” we’re not there yet. As long as you follow safe practices when interacting with AI, there’s no reason to assume your information is any less secure than it would be if you provided it directly to Google, Meta or OpenAI.

How accurate are AI chatbots?

• Claude is AI and can make mistakes. Please double-check responses.
• Gemini is AI and can make mistakes.
• ChatGPT can make mistakes. Check important info.

There’s a reason that most chatbots have warning labels at the bottom of the conversations you have with them, and that’s because there’s no guarantee that the information it’s providing you is accurate. While chatbots have become better at providing sources, you’ll never know if what’s being fed to you is true unless you read the source.

Chatbots have become smarter and more accurate, but they can still hallucinate, meaning you can’t always trust what they say to you. No matter how advanced they get, you should always double check their answers.

Blake Stimac

Reporter 2

Blake has over a decade of experience writing for the web, with a focus on mobile phones, where he covered the smartphone boom of the 2010s and the broader tech scene. When he's not in front of a keyboard, you'll most likely find him playing video games or watching horror movies. See full bio