As of June 2026 — features and prices move constantly. Always check the official pages before you budget (links are in the pricing table below).
If you only ever use the chat box, you're touching a fraction of what these companies sell. In 2026 the product is a bundle: everyday chat, slower "thinking" modes, multi-step research, web search, images, sometimes video, and agent-style tools that go off and do longer jobs for you.
Below is the map for the four names you'll bump into most across this module. It's not a fanboy scorecard — it's a feature checklist so you know exactly what your monthly subscriptions are buying.
Capability map (consumer apps)
| Capability | ChatGPT | Claude | Gemini | Grok |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Everyday chat | Yes — fast "Instant" style modes on paid tiers | Yes — Sonnet/Haiku on free; more on Pro | Yes — Gemini app | Yes — grok.com / X |
| Deeper / thinking chat | Thinking & Pro modes (paid) | Adaptive thinking on newer models; Research on Pro | 3.1 Pro access (plan-limited) | Reasoning on flagship models |
| Deep research (multi-source reports) | Deep Research — monthly caps on Plus | Research — structured reports (Pro) | Deep Research — web + Gmail/Drive on paid | DeepSearch / DeeperSearch |
| Web / live data | Browse & search in chat; agentic tools | Web search | Grounding + research | Web + X (Twitter) search — unique angle |
| Image generation | ChatGPT Images / DALL·E in app | No native image gen in Claude chat | Nano Banana Pro / image tools | Imagine |
| Video generation | No — Sora got killed off in April 2026. Paid-for tool one month, gone the next | No | Veo / Gemini Omni (rolling out by plan; 18+, geo limits) | Short video via Imagine |
| Music / audio | Limited; not a core pillar | No | Audio Overviews in research flows | Limited |
| Build / canvas / code | Canvas, Codex, custom GPTs | Artifacts, Claude Code, Cowork | Canvas from research | Strong via API; chat + Imagine in app |
| Agents / long jobs | Agent mode (paid) | Cowork, connectors (paid) | Gemini Agent (geo/language limits) | Tool use; API-first |
UK pricing anchors (verify before you pay)
| Platform | Free tier | Typical paid anchor (UK) |
|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT | Yes, capped | Plus |
| Claude | Yes, capped | Pro $20/mo + VAT (~$24) — pricing |
| Gemini | Yes, capped | AI Plus around a fiver a month (Google cut the price in May 2026), AI Pro £18.99/mo — GB about |
| Grok | Yes, limited | SuperGrok ~$30/mo — check grok.com |
The one that genuinely caught me out: paying for Claude and then expecting ChatGPT-style images. Different companies, different menus. Know what you're actually subscribed to before you blame "AI" for a missing button.
What to do with this table
Don't memorise it. Just notice three things:
- You're not buying "an AI" — you're renting feature bundles, each with its own caps.
- Later lessons will have you find these features in the UI yourself, by hand.
- Open-weight / your own machine is a different category entirely — we come back to that once you've compared the cloud tools properly.
Continue — why the mode picker inside one app matters as much as which app you open.